Whispers in the Wind
by YankeeSamson
Summary: Yuugi is Atemu's life, the sole reason why Atemu breathes. But when the brothers go to Duelist Kingdom, people start targeting Atemu for his soul. Does his soul even belong to him? Or was he born only to be offered to the Great Pharaoh? Non-Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**Yay a new story!**

**Hope you guys like it!**

**Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is not mine. But the plot is.**

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A panicked youth in his late teens was scanning the area for his younger sibling. He had taken Yuugi to the museum for a field day, but a fight ensued causing the younger one to run-off. The teen, Atemu Motou, ran his hand through his hair. All of the worst scenarios possible ran through the teen's mind. Didn't Yuugi know the dangers that the world held? Of course not. Atemu went to great lengths keeping the horrible secrets of the world away from his brother. Sometimes the role of brother, parent, and friend weighed heavy on his shoulders. Today was one of those days. Small curses escaped from his mouth.. Then he saw a flash of spiky hair.

"Yuugi!"

Atemu sprinted forward and almost collided with a couple. A mumbled apology was heard. Yuugi had turned around at the call of his name and saw his older brother as the teen ran towards him. Immediately his face took the form of a scowl and he ran off. Atemu reached out and caught the hem of Yuugi's shirt, which sent the boy flying onto the floor. This action sent Yuugi into hysterics.

"Aibou," said Atemu gently, picking up his brother. The boy wrapped his small arms around his kin, hiding his face in Atemu's shoulder. No matter how mad Atemu got at Yuugi, he had a soft spot for him; that was enough for him to forgive Yuugi. Truth of the matter was: Yuugi was Atemu's life.

Anyone who ever saw the brothers would automatically know they were brothers. Their hair was the same except for a few blonde highlights in Atemu's hair and a lock of hair that fell down Yuugi's forehead. Their hair was a mix of blonde, red, and black which stuck out in 5 spikes, defying earth's gravity. They both had bangs cascading in front to the sides. As for their eyes, Atemu's were crimson but when you got him mad, they turned bloodshot red, while Yuugi had bright amethyst eyes. When little Yuugi unleashed his eyes on someone, it meant he was going to get anything he wanted. About a week ago, Yuugi wanted to go to an amusement park but Atemu refused. Yuugi put on his puppy dog eyes and Atemu reluctantly agreed.

Holding Yuugi up, Atemu proceeded to the rest of the exhibit. Atemu was only 17 years old and Yuugi's only living relative. Their parents had died when Yuugi was only two and their grandpa had passed away last year, leaving the brothers to fend for themselves. Luckily, Atemu had inherited the secret stash Grandpa had (kept) hidden and relieved the financial burden on the teen. He was just seventeen after all, and not many places hired teenagers.

Atemu walked into the Egyptian room. He had always been fascinated with Egypt. It had started when his grandpa gave him the Millennium Puzzle at the age of 5. Though it took him some time to solve it, the completed puzzle now hung around his neck.

Yuugi had fallen asleep in his arms, so Atemu proceeded at his own pace. There was a recent discovery in Egypt and it had come to Domino, Japan. Which was very odd. Why Domino? But Atemu ignored this question as he read about shadow games, a pharaoh, and a prophecy. He supported Yuugi with one arm and traced the hieroglyphics with the other. His eyes narrowed at the familiarity. As if by instinct, Atemu closed his eyes and searched his mind for the words that did not come. He looked up and glanced to his side. There standing in an Egyptian cotton dress was a woman. She stared at him with an expectant expression. This freaked Atemu out, but he suppressed it. Instead of acknowledging her, he turned his heel and left the exhibit. Seeing that there was nothing else to see and Yuugi was asleep, Atemu headed home.

The museum was close to home, so he had left his car there. He preferred to walk anyway. But he hadn't been expecting to carry a sleeping Yuugi. Oh well. Lost in his thoughts, he was about to cross the street when a black limo pulled right in front of him, causing him to jump backwards and fall. To break his fall, he had let go of Yuugi and used his arms. He realized his mistake a second too late. The kindergartner landed on him, eliciting an 'umph' from Atemu. The action caused Yuugi to wake up and he scrambled up from Atemu and looked dazed. The door to the limo opened. Yuugi recognized this and ran into the limo. Atemu stared at the car.

"Aren't you going to join us?" A cold voice resounded. Atemu stood up, brushed himself off, and dove into the limo.

"KAIBA!" Atemu proceeded to grab the older boy by the collar. "You careless bastard. You could have killed us!"

Atemu had Kaiba pinned against his seat, shaking him by the collar. When Atemu got mad he got really mad, especially when it involved the well-being of Yuugi. The once calm crimson eyes turned red with anger and hatred. When Kaiba didn't respond, he threw a punch. His fist collided with Kaiba's face, but not before Kaiba's leg connected to with Atemu's middle and sent him flying to the other side of the limo.

"Look, you dimwit," Kaiba wiped away the trickle of blood coming from his lip, "Its not my fault you don't watch where you're going."

Yuugi realized the danger of the situation and waddled over to Atemu and held his arms up. Atemu made no movement. He was contemplating what to do. He knew he should pick Yuugi up and keep his arms occupied. On the other hand, he ached to pummel Kaiba.

"Yami" came the voice from the kindergartner. Atemu gave in, slowly picking Yuugi up and setting him on his lap. Satisfied, Yuugi snuggled against Atemu's chest and proceeded to suck his thumb. Usually Atemu prohibited that kind of behavior, but right now he was too busy to notice, as he was sending death glares at his rival. Kaiba smirked.

"It seems he has you twirled around his finger."

"You're one to talk. Aren't you forgetting someone?"

Kaiba's face fell. Indeed, he had forgotten about his younger brother, Mokuba. He looked somber for a moment.

"What do you want, Kaiba." Atemu didn't try to hide the venom in his voice. The way he phrased it, it was a statement, not a question.

"I need you to duel."

"You almost killed us for a duel?" Disbelief was apparent in his voice. But so was bloody murder. Yuugi sunk deeper in Atemu's chest, knowing that his big brother wouldn't fling him aside in his own rage. Yuugi had learned that he was the only one who could pacify his brother.

"Look, the Big Five kidnapped Mokuba and took him to Duelist Kingdom."

Atemu's whole disposition changed. He wrapped his arms tighter around the kindergartner in his arms.

"I need your help."

Atemu almost fell down. Kaiba, asking for help? Atemu rubbed his head. Maybe he'd hit it when he fell. Kaiba was known for his ruthless tactics getting what he wanted. "Help" was not part of the man's vocabulary.

"Why?" He asked. Kaiba looked lost in thought.

"Well, I know you got an invitation to Duelist Kingdom…" Kaiba paused, "I need you to get Mokuba while I go after the Big Five."

Atemu just stared at him.

"You think your group is more important than saving your brother." He gritted his teeth. It seemed the more time he spent with Kaiba, the more he was about to kill the man.

"You're pathetic. You actually think I would ditch my own brother. You're wrong. You see, after you defeated me, I went away. The Big Five took control of my company, and kidnapped my brother. I need my company back to foil their plans. I will not have Mokuba come back to nothing. If I didn't know you, I would have gone to get Mokuba myself. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone."

Atemu frowned. If anything ever happened to Yuugi, nothing would stop him from rescuing him. Although, Kaiba did have a point. He was responsible for his company, his employees, and the products. If he didn't do something, well the world would probably go through a recession. Atemu sighed. No matter how he felt about Kaiba, when it came to family, he couldn't doubt the man. Because he had his reasons.

"Alright, I'll help you." He said bluntly.

"Good."

They stared at each other a little more.

"I believe this is your stop,"

Atemu whipped his head toward the window; indeed they were parked in front of the game shop. He didn't even remember the drive here. Instantly Yuugi jumped off Atemu's lap, ran over and gave Kaiba a hug, which Kaiba returned, and bolted out the door and into the shop.

"Atemu…"

Atemu looked at Kaiba and was shocked what he saw. Kaiba's face was contorted in pain and it looked like he was having in internal struggle within himself.

"If anything happens to Mokuba, I'll…" Kaiba was never at a loss for words. Atemu just nodded his head, signifying he knew. He felt the same way about Yuugi. Kaiba quickly regained his composure. "I'm counting on you. Don't disappoint me."

With that, Atemu got out of the limo and watched as it sped away. He actually felt sorry for Kaiba at the moment. His eyes lingered on the limo until it turned around the corner and out of sight. Atemu slowly turned around and made his way to the door.

"Don't worry Kaiba, you'll get Mokuba back."

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_Back at the Museum_

The woman in the white cotton dress approached her brother.

"Marik, we found him."

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**Soooo...**

**Review! XD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, this chapter was a lot of fun to write. If while reading you question whether brothers play like this, I can vouch that they do. I have an older brother and a younger; and i watched them play countless times. So without further ado, I present Chapter 2.**

**Disclaimer: ...still don't own YGO.**

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"I object." Rang a woman's voice in the game shop. She was standing with her hands on her hips yelling at Atemu, who was scrambling around stuffing various items into a backpack. On the couch sat his two best friends, Jou and Honda. Yuugi was in a corner playing with wooden building blocks.

"Look Anzu, there's nothing you can say or do that would change my mind. Yuugi is coming with me."

"No, he is not. He's 5 years old for goodness sake! I will stay and take care of him."

This caught Atemu's attention. He dropped everything, crossed his arms, and looked at Anzu.

"And how do you think that will go."

The question caught Anzu off guard. Her mind reeled back to last time Atemu left Yuugi with her for a while. She shuddered.

"That's not the point. I refuse to let you take Yuugi on an island by yourself."

"Who's going to stop me." Now Atemu was ticked. He didn't mind his friends being concerned for Yuugi, but when people tell him what he could and couldn't do with Yuugi fuels his anger. Jou and Honda catching the tone in Atemu's voice leapt from the couch and rushed over to their friend.

"Look Atemu, no one's telling you what to do with Yuugi, where just trying to help out. Isn't that right Anzu." Jou asked. Anzu looked furious. "Isn't that right Anzu."

"Fine, but I have one request."

Atemu looked at Anzu. No matter what the request was, he was taking Yuugi.

"What."

"I want Yuugi to decide if he wants to go or not."

The look on Atemu's face changed about three times. First it was anger, then thoughtfulness and finally determination.

"Aibou!" Atemu's voice rang loud and clear. Yuugi lifted his head up from the blocks and looked at his brother.

"Yes Yami." That's what Yuugi called his older brother, Yami. It was when their parents died, that Yuugi and Atemu were engaged in a game, when Yuugi started calling him that. The game was of light and dark. Atemu had compared himself to the dark and Yuugi to the light. Atemu never figured out why Yuugi started calling him Yami but he didn't mind. Yuugi was the only one who could call him Yami. No one dared to call him because if they did, they would be on the receiving end of his wrath.

"Come here."

Yuugi obediently waddled up to him, with a dark magician plushy in one arm.

"Anzu has a question to ask you."

Yuugi turned his eyes from Atemu to Anzu. It looked like they were having an argument. Finally his eyes rested on Anzu.

"Yes Anu"

"Well, Yuugi, your brother wants to take you with him to Duelist Kingdom, for a tournament. I here appose and want you to stay with me. Who do you want to go with, me or him?"

Yuugi looked like he was about to cry. He turned back to Atemu.

"You don wan me ta come?" Yuugi replied through his tear-filled eyes. Atemu sent a glare towards Anzu.

"Aibou, you know I want you were ever I go." He knelt down and opened his arms. Yuugi eagerly ran into them. Wrapping his arms tightly around the toddler, he picked him up. "He's coming with me."

It was a statement to Anzu and an indication that the subject was closed. Atemu went and walked back to the corner where Yuugi was playing. He set him down and proceeded to play with the youngster. In no time, he was giggling and laughing. Abandoning the toys, Yuugi jumped onto Atemu, knocking him down.

"Oh you little troublemaker!" Atemu yelled, and started to tickle the toddler. Yuugi tried to evade the hands and giggled harder. Atemu than laid Yuugi on the floor, held his arms and blew on his stomach. This made Yuugi laugh even harder. Yuugi got out of Atemu's grasp and jumped onto his back. He grabbed a chokehold on his neck and blew into his ear. Atemu yelled 'Ahhh', jumped up and sprinted around the room with Yuugi on his back.

"You cannot bring me down, oh noble one!" Atemu stated. Yuugi's response was more giggles. "Noo, I feel myself weakening. Noo!"

Atemu dropped to his knees and then onto the floor, face down. He was motionless. Yuugi just held on, waiting for Atemu to jump up. But a few moments went by. Yuugi let go and got off Atemu.

"Yami?" poked Yuugi. He was squatting and poking Atemu repeatedly on the shoulder. Suddenly Atemu bolted up grabbed Yuugi upside down and blew on his stomach. Yuugi squealed from surprise and laughed. Then Atemu sat Yuugi and himself down and leaned against the wall. Yuugi stood up and put his hands on Atemu's cheeks. He grabbed them and twisted them around, while Atemu smiled and gazed at Yuugi.

Anzu, Honda, and Jou stared at the pair, smiling wistfully; they bathed in the magic that was being emitted from the two. It was a rare occurrence when they could witness brotherly affection. They couldn't think of anyone loving someone as much as Atemu loved Yuugi. They all knew without doubt, that Atemu would die for Yuugi…and much more.

"Okay, time for bed Aibou." Atemu stood up and offered his arms to Yuugi. Yuugi instantly started to pout. "Aibou."

"No." The little boy crossed his arms and looked at the elder. The elder also had his arms crossed. The scene was very amusing that the group on the couch, burst out in laughter. The brothers' heads snapped in their direction. Atemu's brow furrowed and scrutinized his best friends.

"You..guys sh..ould see.. ." Jou managed to spit it out.

"I'll make you a deal Aibou." Atemu returned his attention to Yuugi. "I let you stay up 15 more minutes if you take a bath."

Yuugi's face scrunched up, but he thought of it. In a toddlers world 15 minutes was 3 hours. So unwillingly Yuugi nodded his head.

"Hey little man, how about hanging out with good old Jou." Jou gestured towards himself. Yuugi squealed and dashed into Jou's awaiting arms. Atemu groaned.

"Jou you better not rile him up. I want him to actually sleep tonight, seeing that we'll be on a ship tomorrow night."

Jou nodded, and Atemu headed upstairs to prepare Yuugi's bath. Downstairs Anzu dragged Honda, Jou, and little Yuugi to the balcony.

"Honda, I don't think Atemu is thinking clearly. Yuugi shouldn't be accompanying him. He's way too young; there shouldn't be that much stress on a 5 year old."

"I know, but you know we can't tell him anything. Didn't you see how he reacted earlier?" Jou replied. Yuugi sat quietly in Jou's arms, listening to the teenagers talk.

"I have an idea, how about Honda and I sneak aboard the ship, so we can watch over Yuugi when Atemu is dueling. Whether Atemu admits it or not, he needs his full attention during a duel, and having Yuugi clinging isn't going to help." Anzu said.

"That's a good idea. The whole gang could be there." Jou said excitedly. Yuugi, being only 5, didn't comprehend what the gang had said. But he had a gnawing feeling that they might take him from Atemu.

Atemu sat upstairs on his bed. He held the two prize cards in front of him. One was 3 million dollars and the other was right hand of the king, signifying whatever he wanted would be granted. Originally he wanted the 3 million dollars, for even though his grandpa left him money it wouldn't last him long. With 3 million dollars he could ensure a secure future for Yuugi. He still would have gone to work, but there would be no stress attached. He would be able to be there more for Yuugi when he needed him. He looked somberly at the card. Now he was going to Duelist Kingdom to save Mokuba. He wasn't mad at Kaiba, Mokuba was more important. But he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He would never admit it to anyone but raising Yuugi by himself sometimes took its toll. Sometimes he felt cheated by fate, for having his adolescence taken away. Every time he had these thoughts, extreme guilt would wash over him and he would chide himself. Yuugi was everything.

Atemu went and turned off the bathtub and proceeded to go find Yuugi. When he descended the stairs, he spotted his friends and Yuugi on the balcony. Apparently they were making plans without him. This irked him a little.

Anzu jumped a little when she heard the balcony door open a little. She could tell by Atemu's expression that he was a little bit ticked.

"What are you guys doing?"

"We decided that all of us are going to Duelist Kingdom." Jou stated.

"Wh-" Atemu attempted to talk but was cut off by Anzu.

"If you're not willing to leave Yuugi behind, then Honda and I are coming to help you out. Face it Atemu, you're going to need help with Yuugi when you're dueling."

"You forget, Yuugi is also our friend and friends look out for each other." Honda intercepted. Atemu was baffled he couldn't think of a response.

"Okay, I'm not really in the mood to argue with you guys. It seems that there is no confidence in me regarding my brother. If you guys think I'm such an unfit parent, then you're welcome to take over." Atemu turned around and stalked out of the balcony. He was outraged and it took him every ounce of self-control to just walk away.

Yuugi squirmed out of Jou's arms and ran after his brother. The gang stood their worried. They didn't mean to offend Atemu but they needed him too see the truth.

Atemu was just about to march upstairs when he felt a tug on his hand. He looked down and saw his Aibou.

"Aibou…" Atemu lifted him up and carried him to his bath. If it was another circumstance, Yuugi would have fought the bath. But he felt that his brother was angry and troubled. So he complied and let Atemu bathe him without any resistance. After Yuugi was in his pajamas, Atemu tucked him in. He got out a book and read it too Yuugi, until his eyes drooped and closed. Atemu kissed Yuugi's forehead and left. Atemu felt much more relaxed. Yuugi had a calming effect on him. He could never stay angry when he was around Yuugi. Knowing Yuugi was in bed, Atemu went to face his friends.

"Atemu we didn-" Jou began, but Atemu waived his hand.

"Look, I know you guys don't think I'm doing what's best for Yuugi, but you guys have to trust me. I know Yuugi, and the last thing he needs is for me to abandon him."

"We just want to help you; I know you will not admit it but taking care of a kid is a big responsibility. You too have to be teenager if you don't want to lose your sanity." Anzu chipped in.

"Sorry for exploding on you guys earlier. It's been a long day."

"So is it okay, if we accompany you?" Anzu asked. Everybody was quite for a moment. Jou had an invitation so he was going nonetheless.

"Yes you guys can come. I guess I didn't think what I was going to do with Yuugi when I duel."

"You can count on us!" the three yelled.

"SSSHHH! Yuugi is asleep."

The three looked guilty. After they all agreed on a plan, everyone left. Atemu sighed. Tomorrow was going to be an even longer day. He went upstairs and went to bed.

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**So? **

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**The button is below.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay Chapter 3. If you guys have your literary terms handy, bring them out. All those English classes have finally payed off...not really. If you know how to analyze a piece of literature than you should be able to pick out some key points. If you don't, don't worry. All will be revealed in due time.**

**Oh and Beta? Anyone? Im in dire need of one. So if you want to beta this story, let me know.**

**Discaimer: *sigh* My funds have gone to the equine. He's worth it though. You all know what that means.**

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Atemu founded himself walking through an abandoned hallway. For some reason he felt like he was here before. The walls were dirty and some were even strewn with slight traces of blood. Portraits that hung were either stolen or trashed. Atemu felt a sadness creep into his heart. Suddenly a piercing scream reached his ears. His heart gripped in terror and in pain as if it was being torn out of his body…

Atemu bolted out of bed clumsily. He was in a cold sweat with his heart pounding. Also unbeknownst to him, his right hand gripped his chest. The dull ache was present as if the dream was not a dream, but a memory. Atemu slowly calmed himself down and tried to remember the dream. The dream was almost at his grasp, all he had to do was probe a little harder into his mind…

"Yami?" the sudden voice made Atemu jump so hard that he landed on the floor. Giggling was heard at the door.

"Yuugi, didn't I ever tell you that sneaking up on people is bad."

The giggling stopped. Atemu didn't look up, he almost had the dream in his grasps and now it was gone, far from his memory, never to be returned. Retreating footsteps brought him back to reality.

Yuugi walked away from his brother's room. He had tears in the corner of his eyes. Usually when he came to his brother's room, he was invited into the bed. Today he received harsh words. Yuugi went and locked himself in his room. He took his dark magician plushy and curled up in the corner. There was a knock on the door.

"Yuugi…I'm sorry."

Silence was met to teen's ears. Atemu tried the door knob but it was locked. He hated it when Yuugi looked his door then again he had a reason.

"Breakfast will be downstairs, come down soon; we have a long day today. Okay Aibou…"

Silence again. Yuugi heard the steps retreat and head downstairs. He hugged his plushy harder.

'I'm never coming out' thought Yuugi, he hid his face.

Downstairs Atemu put bacon on the pan and whipped up some eggs. Pancakes were also being mixed in a bowl. They were Yuugi's favorite. Atemu kept glancing at the staircase every few minutes but there was no sign. Soon breakfast was ready and still no sign of Yuugi. He was just about to go upstairs, when the doorbell rang.

"Oh, hi Anzu!" He wasn't expecting Anzu this early in the morning. "Come on in"

"Good Morning, Atemu." She made her way in and now stood by the couch. "I came by to see if you needed any help."

"Actually I do." Atemu scratched the back of his head. "Yuugi and I kind of butted heads this morning and he locked himself in his room. I need to go out and run some errands before we leave. Would you entice him out of his room and feed him breakfast. It's right there on the table. After he's done get him dressed."

"Sure thing, Anzu to the rescue."

"Thank you Anzu; your saving me a head ache." Atemu grabbed his wallet, keys, and took off.

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The teen maneuvered his car swiftly and carefully through the jam packed crowds of Domino. While driving his mind kept wandering to the dream he had. Did that dream have anything to do with his golden artifact? Curiously he picked up the puzzle and examined it. The eye of Horus began to glow slowly. His eyes narrowed trying to decipher the meaning of this. Before he could even blink, flashes of events presented themselves to the crimson eyed youth.

Caught by surprise, Atemu braked hard and swerved. The images vanished and he felt himself being spun in the air. His grip on the steering wheel forced the skin on his knuckles to be drawn into a white line. He was ready for the impact but what he wasn't ready for was the onslaught of his car being hit on all sides. Glass shattered everywhere; sending shards in every which direction the impact took. The airbag went off and hit Atemu full force in the chest. His left foot was locked on to the brake pedal. It seemed his foot thought if it kept the pedal down then the car would stop. But the car wouldn't stop. Luckily Atemu was wearing his seat belt. If he was not then he would have been catapulted from the car and most likely would have died.

Finally after what seemed like hours the car stopped. But unfortunately it was upside down. Hastily, Atemu took his seatbelt off and met broken metal that once was his roof. He had gotten the wind knocked out of him and was trying to suck in air. The teen crawled out of his car and collapsed onto the asphalt. Air finally returned to his body. His chest rose and fell as the oxygen rushed to replenish his deprived cells.

Atemu lifted his head and surveyed the damage. Apparently the car had rolled…a few times… and then some more. He was lucky to be alive.

'Damn dream, first it puts my relationship with Yuugi on the rocks and then it nearly kills me' He closed his eyes for a second to figure out what condition he was in. The adrenaline still pulsed in his veins; causing the pain for the moment to vanish.

Out of pure curiosity he looked at the passenger side of the car. There was a piece of metal embedded in the seat. Embedded were Yuugi's chest would have been.

The contents of Atemu's stomach were immediately emptied on to the pavement. As he kept on dry heaving, he could only picture the end result if he had taken Yuugi…like he had planned.

Sirens met his ears while a muffled groan escaped his lips. He didn't have time to go to the hospital or the desire. Though his body had a different agenda, because right then the adrenaline wore out and he was greeted with the sharp pain in his right leg. His head felt like it was going to explode. Then there were the ache's manifesting all over his body. The teen just wanted to lie on the ground and not be disturbed but if he wanted to walk away without being put into an ambulance then he had to get up.

"Uhh" his body resisted any movement and in retaliation it sent painful jolts up his spine. Standing on two feet, Atemu squinted. His vision began to blur and he had to steady himself against a pole. "Damn dream."

A police car arrived at the scene. The officer examined the wreckage and approached the teen.

"You the driver?"

"Yes, Unfortunately."

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Anyone with you?"

"Thankfully not."

"License please."

"What?" The question caught him off guard. The officer quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I would ask for the registration but since your vehicle is totaled and that it's probably inside the vehicle, it would be pointless to ask."

"Oh." Atemu pulled out his wallet and handed the ID to the police. The officer motioned for Atemu to follow. A couple more of squad cars arrived.

As the officer filled out a form, a paramedic approached him.

"Sir, will you follow me?"

"No, I'm not hurt." Atemu was not going to the hospital.

"Your arm says otherwise." Smirked the paramedic.

"My arm is—" A glance at his left arm shut the youth up. There was piece of glass sticking out of his bicep. Blood was slowly oozing out. "What the—"

The paramedic laughed, "Will you come with me."

"I'm fine."

"Look kid unless you want me to strap you to a gurney and ship you to the hospital, I suggest you come with me." The response Atemu gave the paramedic was the intended reaction. Gritting his teeth Atemu let the guy lead him to the ambulance.

"Damn dream."

After the man bandaged his arm up and gave him some 800mg Ibuprofen, Atemu was released from the ambulance.

"Sir, what do you want done to the car?" it was the same police officer from earlier.

"Err, umm…Could you guys take it to my house?" he mentally pondered Anzu's reaction.

"Address."

"Uhh." Atemu quickly gave the address and after a couple more question's he was released. He had declined the offer for a ride back home. Instead, Atemu made his way up the street, to the familiar building of Kaiba Corp.

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After Atemu left, Anzu headed upstairs to try to coax Yuugi out. She knocked on the door.

"Yuugi? It's me Anzu, will you open the door." Silence. "Atemu left and he won't be back for a while. Why don't you come out. Breakfast is ready."

A few moments passed before the silent footfalls were heard. There was a click and the door opened. Yuugi peaked around the door to make sure it was Anzu. When he was satisfied that there was no older brother in sight he walked out with the plushy dragging behind him.

"Anu!" cried Yuugi as he waddled over to the girl.

"Come on Yuugi, let's go eat breakfast. You have a big day today." Anzu picked up the child and walked downstairs. She sat him on a chair and handed him his breakfast. Seeing Yuugi satisfied, Anzu grabbed a plate and filled it with the leftovers. She loved Atemu's cooking.

The two of them sat in silence; munching on breakfast. Once they were done, Anzu led the boy upstairs to get him dressed. But Yuugi had other plans. He brushed past Anzu and pretended he was an airplane.

"Ima aiwapwane." The youngster ran all over the living room, jumping on the couch and chairs.

"Yuugi! Stop that! Now come with me. I need to get you dressed before Atemu get back home."

"No. Atemu bad. Gething dwessed bad. Fwying wike an aiwapwane good." And that's what Yuugi proceeded to do. He ran as fast as his legs could and zoomed through the kitchen and the living room.

"Yuugi!" exasperated Anzu. "Stop it before you get hurt. I don't want to get a lecture from Atemu!" Speaking of the devil, Yuugi tripped and collided with chair in the kitchen. Cries erupted from his mouth as he sat there clutching his knee. Anzu quickly rushed to the boy and picked him up.

"I told you so. Now stop crying and let's go get you dressed."

Yuugi nodded and but a few tears still escaped his eyes, "I wan Yami."

"I thought Atemu was bad."

"No. Yami good. Fwying wike an aiwaplane bad."

"Don't worry Atemu will be back soon."

"No. I wan Yami now!" Anzu didn't reply. She prayed silently that Atemu would hurry up and come home. She didn't want to deal with an unhappy toddler. Anzu sat Yuugi down on the bed and went to get him dressed. Afterwards they went downstairs and Anzu turned the television on for the youngster. She herself sat down and took out a magazine.

There was a commotion outside and it forced Anzu up and to look out the window. She gasped. It was Atemu's Nissan Altima Coup. But it looked like it went through a car compacter. Quickly she ran outside and scanned for its owner.

"What happened! Where's Atemu! Please tell me he's okay!" she practically yelled at the tow trucker.

"Calm down, I don't know what happened but the driver was okay. He refused a ride home and took off."

Anzu's heart calmed down. Atemu was safe. Oh was she going to give him a piece of her mind.

* * *

Atemu paused. "Will you do it?"

"You're crazy, you know that? But I'll do it. Not for you but for Yuugi. I'll treat him like he was another brother to me."

"Thanks Kaiba. It sets my mind at ease. You're the only one I trust him with."

Kaiba raised an eye brow at him, "What about Anzu?"

Atemu chuckled, "Anzu's a good friend but she's mentally not able to handle Yuugi. No matter how much she tries to convince me. It'll take one tantrum from Yuugi for Anzu to shell him out to an orphanage. I do not want that for Yuugi. And you of all people would understand. Then there's the financial side of taking care of a child."

Both youth's sat there in silence. "I'll have the paperwork done by tonight. Stop by before you leave, so you can sign it."

"Thank you, Kaiba."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

* * *

**Can someone yell foreshadowing? Or is it... **

**Questions? Concerns? Comments?**

**Review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait. College and the equine got in the way. **

**I read this chapter a couple of times but I'm sure there are plenty of mistakes. Please tell me when you find them. And I'm still looking for a beta. So if you like this story and would like to beta let me know. You'll be the first person to read the new chapter and have some of your ideas put into this.**

**I also feels like this chapter drags on. Sorry if you think so too. I tried my best.**

**Disclaimer: I want my truck fixed. Which mean YGO still belongs to Kazuki Takahashi but the plot it mine.**

* * *

Atemu sighed as he stared at the wreckage in his driveway. It was a gift from his grandfather when he had turned sixteen. He had liked the car and planned to keep it for a couple of years. Now, the car was totaled. He wondered if he could afford a new one. Taking one more glance at it, Atemu went inside.

Hysterics met his ears when he walked through the front door and his senses went on high alert. Yuugi's loud cries filled the house; sparking anger in the older teen.

"Yuugi hold still!" there was no doubt the irritation in Anzu's voice.

"NO. I wan Yami!" the toddler wailed louder.

"Atemu is not here and crying won't help either. So stop the waterworks." The voices were coming from the downstairs bathroom. The teen quickly made his way over to see what the trouble was.

"What is going on?" boomed Atemu's voice. Yuugi was covered in dirt from head to toe and there was water everywhere. He had tears running down his face that mixed in with the dirt creating a muddy trail on his face.

"Yami!" the youngster cried. He tried to get up but Anzu forcibly pushed him down; causing another wail from the boy. The blood began to boil in the teen's veins.

"I to—"

"Don't touch my brother" hissed Atemu silently. His eyes were planted on Anzu.

"But I—"

"I don't care what your excuse is, but there is no reason to bring Yuugi to tears. For Ra's sake he's only 5! Five Anzu!" This was exactly what he was telling Kaiba earlier.

"He then should at least have some manners then! How am I supposed to watch him when he slips through my fingers every five minutes and gets himself into messes?"

"Nobody asked you to watch him! You volunteered. I do not appreciate coming back home to an upset brother." They were yelling back and forth at each other. Yuugi on the other hand, curled up into a ball on the toilet seat and proceeded to cry into his knees. He hadn't meant to upset Atemu. Anzu told him he would be upset if Atemu found him crying. Another wail escaped the youngster's lips.

"If you don't teach him some manners, than I will!" Anzu grabbed Yuugi by the forearm and yanked it, "STOP CRYING!"

"DON'T TOUCH HIM" roared Atemu. He roughly grabbed Anzu's wrist and wretched it free from Yuugi. She then roughly collided with the sink "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE."

"But Ate—"

"GET OUT" Anzu slowly backed away, fearing what Atemu would do. His bloodshot stare made her blood run cold. His expression was one of a crazed person and she briefly wondered if he could commit murder. Anzu turned around and fled. It wasn't until he heard the front door slam that he focused his attention on Yuugi.

Yuugi had visibly shrunk into a shell. Spasms rocked his body as tears freely traveled down his cheeks.

"Aibou…" The teen's voice had calmed down as soon as he saw the distressed form of his kin. The teen wrapped his arms around the shaking form. Instantly Yuugi uncurled and latched around Atemu's neck. He buried his face in his shoulder and began to cry even more. Picking him up, Atemu exited out of the bathroom and went into the living room. He rubbed circles on the small ones back to try to calm him down.

"It's okay, little one. You're okay. Sshh." Atemu sat down on the couch and proceeded to calm the small boy down. "Calm down Yuugi. You're okay. No one's going to hurt you. Sshh."

After a couple of minutes the youngster's sobs subsided to hiccups. Atemu still rubbed his back and rocked him.

"You're okay. That's it. Take a deep breath in and let it out. Just breathe."

"Yami"

"Yes?"

"Awe you mad at me?"

"Ra no, I could never be mad at you! You're my life" Atemu hugged Yuugi closer to himself. "Feeling better?" The boy nodded his head, "Bath time!"

"Nooo!" Yuugi quickly jumped off of Atemu and darted away. The teen just laughed before taking off after him. Atemu caught up to Yuugi and whisked him off his feet and threw him over his shoulder. "No bath! No bath! No bath! Took one yestewday!"

"But now you're filthy and we can't have that." Yuugi banged on his back with his fist. Atemu nearly dropped him at the pain that coursed through him. His shoulder too was buckling under the weight. He forgot about being in the accident as soon as he heard Yuugi crying. Instead of putting him on his feet, Atemu ignored the pain and proceeded to make his way up the stairs. He sat Yuugi on the toilet seat and turned the water on. "You want bubbles?"

"Yes and I wanth the wather bwue!"Yuugi threw his hands in air at his statement.

"Alright bubbles and blue water." He poured the bubble solution under the tap and threw in a small blue tablet. He turned to Yuugi and undressed him. After Yuugi was sitting in the bathtub, Atemu sat down on the seat. He handed Yuugi some crayons and the toddler began to draw on the walls. He watched the joy that Yuugi seemed to have in drawing scribbles on the tile. The water was reaching the brim, so Atemu turned it off. There was a knock on the door.

"I'll be back Yuugi. Don't have too much fun." Yuugi giggled and nodded his head before returning to his artwork.

Jogging down the steps he wondered who could be at the door. Opening it he met the pissed of looks of Jou and Honda. Anzu was hiding behind them. Atemu stepped aside to let them in. An uncanny silence settled into the atmosphere.

"Man, I though you knew better." Hissed Jou. Atemu crossed his arms and glared at Anzu before looking back to Jou.

"Pray tell on what I 'knew better'"

"You know what."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't. If someone rough handled your sister you would have had the same reaction. _That_ you should know."

"I wouldn't go as far and hit Anzu."

"What! I ne—"

"I never thought you would hit a girl" intercepted Honda.

"You guys have it _all _wrong. I never _hit_ Anzu. I removed her hand from Yuugi when _she dared to hurt him!"_ The teen glared daggers at Anzu. Jou looked confused.

"Is this true Anzu?" asked Jou turning to her. Anzu tried to think of an excuse but when she couldn't she hung her head.

"Yes…"

"Anzu! How could you! Yuugi's only 5!" Jou yelled.

"I wouldn't have to if Atemu would just teach that kid some manners." Anzu retaliated.

"I do not need to teach Yuugi _anything_, he has perfect manners. He just doesn't respond well when people are yelling at him!" Atemu unfolded his arms and his hands went into fists by his sides. His eyes were closed in concentration of controlling himself. A head ache had formed and his arm throbbed from his injury. Today was not a good day for him.

"If I was responsible for him, I'd—"

"YOUR ARE NOT HIS MOTHER! Don't think I don't know why you take interest in Yuugi. I have no interest in having you as a girlfriend. Nor will I ever. But I do swear, if you ever lay one finger on Yuugi again, I will not be held responsible for my actions."

Jou walked over to Atemu, grabbed his shoulders, and looked him in the eye. "Nobody's going to hurt Yuugi. So just calm down. Were all friends here, right?" Again the uncanny silence settled in the room. Atemu opened his eyes and glared at the group before him. His eyes raked each form as he considered his options.

"I have to go check on Yuugi." Atemu turned around and stalked back upstairs. The trio sat down on the couch and waited for Atemu to come back.

Yuugi had heard the yelling downstairs. When Atemu walked into the bathroom, he saw Yuugi aimlessly drawing circles on the tile.

"You okay?" Atemu asked as he sat down and began to shampoo the mass of hair that was identical to his.

"I'm sowwy." The pitch of guilt that came out of Yuugi's mouth made Atemu's eyes widen.

"Aibou none if this is your fault!" he instantly cupped Yuugi's face and faced it towards his. There were hints of tears in his eyes. The elder's heart wrenched in seeing the younger so distress. He quickly wiped away the tear that escaped. "Please don't think that it was your fault. I don't want you to worry about arguments I engage in. Understand? Don't ever be sorry for anything that isn't your fault. Okay?"

"Otay." Yuugi flashed a smile then wriggled out of his grip. Then he handed Atemu a red crayon, "Dwa with me."

Atemu laughed and took the crayon, "Alright, anything for you."

"Then I wan ice cweam."

"You just love to take advantage of the situation. But okay you can have some when you get out."

"Yay!" and Yuugi clapped his hands together. Atemu was amazed on how quick he could go from sad to happy. It warmed his heart that he was the reason why his demeanor changed so quickly.

* * *

The gang looked up to see Atemu bounding down the stairs with a freshly clean Yuugi in his arms. The young boy kept wiggling around as he was telling a story to Atemu. The teen held Yuugi in his uninjured arm but that didn't stop him from wincing in pain as his body ached. Seeing he could use a hand, Jou piped in.

"Ya need a hand?"

"No, that's okay. Thanks for asking."

"Jo! Honda!" exclaimed Yuugi in seeing his 'uncles'. He did see Anzu but ignored her like Atemu told him to. A flash of hurt flashed on Anzu's face but it went unnoticed. Atemu set Yuugi down and the youngster ran over to Jou who caught him in his arms and swung him around in the air. A euphoria of giggles erupted from the toddler.

"Jou I hate it when you get him all riled up." Atemu face palmed and groaned. At least Yuugi was happy.

"Aww come on Atemu! Were just having fun here." He then threw Yuugi up in the air.

"Jou!"

Jou caught Yuugi, who was laughing like a mad child. The blonde grinned sheepishly at Atemu who was mumbling incoherent words. "And you thought I wouldn't catch him."

"I never know with you. Be careful." Waiving his hand, Atemu made his way to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and looked in. "You guys hungry?"

"Hungry? I'm starved! Bring on the grub!" Jou clapped his hands together and rubbed them thoughtfully. He momentarily forgot about the boy who clung to his neck. A sharp cry rang out as Yuugi's fingers slipped their hold. Thankfully, Jou caught him before he hit the ground and threw him back into the air to dissolve Yuugi's sudden worry.

"Jou!" Atemu's sharp voice rang out.

"What?"

"Be careful!"

"I am"

"So are you guys hungry?' Atemu asked Anzu and Honda.

"Yes!" they said in monotone. Atemu then pulled chicken drumsticks from the fridge, salad ingredients, and potatoes. Anzu walked into the kitchen and stood silently as Atemu worked on preparing the meal.

"I'm sorry." Anzu said with her head down. Atemu didn't look up as he cracked an egg into a bowl. "I let my temper get the best of me. You are right, Yuugi's only five and there was no reason for me to push him into hysterics."

After another moment of awkward silence, Atemu replied with a sigh, "I guess I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have rough handled you, but you do understand where I'm coming from right? Yuugi is the only reason why I haven't gone insane yet. He is my life. And I won't tolerate anyone hurting him in any way, whether it's physically, mentally, and/or emotionally."

"I understand." Anzu nodded.

"You're one of my best friends but that doesn't mean I'll forgive you the next time you hurt Yuugi." Atemu stopped working and looked up to meet Anzu's eyes. She bit her lip at seeing the madness and protectiveness in his red orbs. She also noticed a faint glow on his forehead "And if you do hurt Yuugi, regardless how minor it is, Jou and Honda won't stop me from hurting you."

Atemu went back to chopping the tomatoes. His eyes' returning to crimson and the glow was gone. "I forgive you though. You should ask Yuugi's forgiveness too."

"Thank you Atemu." And then the atmosphere lifted immensely. The tension was gone and was replaced with the nauseating feeling of friendliness. A yelp was heard from the living room.

"Jou!" barked Atemu.

"Man Atemu your worse than a mother hen." Jou yelled back as he had a struggling, laughing Yuugi in a headlock. Anzu left the kitchen and approached Yuugi. Jou let him go and let the girl have a moment with the toddler. He himself walked over to Atemu. The teen had stopped and was watching Yuugi's reaction.

"Yuugi?" Anzu hesitantly got the attention of the boy. Yuugi's eyes widened and looked over to his brother. Atemu's eyes reassured him and the boy's amethyst eyes looked back to blue ones.

"Yes Anu." Yuugi's voice held a trace of fear. But Atemu had told Yuugi earlier that she wasn't going to hurt him, not if he had a say about it.

"I'm sorry for hurting you. Will you forgive me?" Anzu's eyes were hopeful that she would be forgiven by the other brother. She knew if he was afraid of her than she wouldn't be able to come around as often as she would like. The little boy's face broke out into a smile and through his arms around the girl's neck.

"I fogive you."

Anzu smiled and hugged the boy back, "Thank you"

* * *

About a half hour later the gang found themselves around a table eating what Atemu had cooked up.

"I wan ice cweam." Pouted Yuugi. He pushed away the chicken and crossed his arms.

"You get ice cream after you eat." Atemu pushed the plate back.

"No, I wan ice cweam now!"

"Yuugi you won't get ice cream unless you finish you meal." Atemu said sternly.

"Hey little buddy, I bet I can eat faster than you." Jou interrupted.

"Huh?" Yuugi was confused. He stared at Jou.

"I challenge you to a race. The one who wins will gets the ice cream." The chance for a potential game got Yuugi's attention.

"I fasther!" exclaimed Yuugi and dug into the food.

"Jou! Do you want him to choke!" Atemu exasperated. He looked over and Yuugi had a drumstick in his hand. He then looked over to Jou who already had an empty plate. "Uh Jou—"

"Ssshhh" Jou said before Atemu could make the fact realized to Yuugi that Jou already finished his food. Anzu rolled her eyes while Honda helped himself to thirds. Jou too helped himself to more.

"So Atemu, what happened to your car?" asked Honda.

"My car?" The teen blinked a few times. "My car! Oh! Well long story short. I got into an accident."

"Well no duh, anyone could see that, but how did you get into one?"

Atemu thought back to the accident and the images that were flashed before him. The glimpses that distracted him from driving were odd. One was a shadow of six men standing before him. But they were silhouettes. The next one was of the millennium puzzle. He reached down and picked up the artifact to eye level and examined it. The last of the images was nothing but a blinding flash of light. What did they mean? Why were they shown to him? Where they connected to his dream in any way? Did that mean—"

"Earth to Atemu" Jou was waving his hand in front of Atemu's face. Honda and Anzu stared at him with concern.

"Huh? What?" Atemu snapped out of his thoughts.

"Dude you spaced out and were staring at your puzzle."

"I was?" He then looked at his hand. The eye of Horus stared back at him. He dropped back to his chest. "Oh"

"What were you thinking about?" asked Anzu.

"The accident." He was about to tell them about the images but then remembered they didn't know about his dream. Right now he wasn't in the mood to share his internal struggle. "I saw a dog and swerved to avoid it. And I swerved a little too hard."

The gang looked at him. He knew they didn't believe him but they were willing to drop the subject. "At least you survived. Too bad about the car though." Commented Honda.

"Ya I know, I don't know if I'll be able to afford a new one."

"Done! I beath you Jou" Yuugi's voice interrupted the conversation.

"Aww shucks. I just can't keep up with you little man." Jou faked disappointment and ruffled the boy's hair. Yuugi giggled. Atemu looked at his brother's plate and was surprised to find it empty.

"Yami"

"Yes aibou." Atemu made a mistake when he looked at Yuugi. The little boy pulled out his puppy dog eyes and was staring upward at his brother.

"I wan ice cweam."

"Is that how you ask for something?"

"Pwease may I have some ice cweam big bwother?" The puppy dog eyes got bigger.

"Oh how can I refuse you? Plus I already promised it to you." Atemu replied and smiled when the youngster jumped up and down in his seat.

"Yay I geth ice cweam!"

Atemu pushed his seat back and proceeded to get the ice cream for not only Yuugi but for everyone else.

* * *

It was six o'clock and the gang was waiting by the door for Atemu. Yuugi sat quietly in Jou's arms, eyes on his brother's form as he was rushing and stuffing things into a backpack.

"Come on Atemu. If you wana stop by rich boy's place then we have to leave now." Jou muttered.

"I know. I know. I'm coming." After making sure he had all the supplies necessary for the three day trek, Atemu switched all the lights off and headed to the door. Locking up the house the gang were off toward Kaiba Corp. "You guys know you don't have to accompany me."

"We know, but we want to." Anzu chirped in. "By the way why do you need to see Kaiba."

"It's his brother I'm rescuing. He called me earlier and told me to stop by. He said he had to give me something." Replied Atemu.

"Oh"

The group walked in silence. Yuugi was still in Jou's arms and made an occasional outburst when he saw something he liked. Atemu walked behind the group; lost in his own thoughts. He had this sinking feeling that something big was going to happen; and not necessarily something good either. It was the sole reason why he had visited Kaiba earlier. It was like a sixth sense; nagging at the back of his mind for him to turn around and forget about the tournament. He sighed.

When they reached Kaiba Corp. Atemu had everyone wait in the lobby as he went up the elevator alone. It didn't take long before he was back. Exiting the building, they headed toward the dock; where the ship awaited them.

Atemu ran a hand through his hair and sighed again.

* * *

**Crayola makes these tablets that turn bath water into different colors. The crayons are also made by Crayola and they wash off using water. I believe you find them in the bath section for kids. And I dont own Crayola either.**

**Next chapter Marik comes out. **

**I'm having mixed feeling about Anzu. Should I keep her as a friend to Atemu or should she turn on him? What do you guys think? What do you guys want to read? I promise I'll try my best to update by Sunday.**

**Oh, and if you guys didnt understand Yuugi's talk then let me know and I'll clarify.**

**Review XD**


	5. Chapter 5

**I tried updating this story yesterday, but fanfiction was being a butt about logging in. Oh well, hope you guys like this chapter! Sorry for how short it is.**

**Quick question, should Atemu have the god cards in his possesion or should I introduce them later?**

**Thanks to all who reviewed this story. It makes my day when I see the comments, good or bad.**

**Disclaimer: No I don't own YGO**.

* * *

"Atemu do you think they'll let Yuugi on board?" asked Jou. Honda and Anzu already snuck on board through the cargo hold. Jou had distracted the guards so they could go by unnoticed. Now Atemu, Jou, and Yuugi stood in front of the ship. Yuugi was in Atemu's arms and he stared at the cruise liner in wonder. This would be his first boat rider.

"I don't know but they better," Atemu sighed, "I'm not leaving without Yuugi."

The place was swarmed with duelists. Young duelists, old duelists, duelists of both gender and different races. Jou and Atemu crept into line and waited for their turn to board. As they waited they heard a variety of conversations of whose going to win. From the tones you could tell half of them were boasting and weren't half as good as they thought they were.

"Did you hear about that kid who beat Seto Kaiba?" a boy from behind them exasperated.

"Yes and he's supposed to be here. I wonder who he is." Another replied.

"His name is Atemu Motou but that's all anyone knows about him." A new voice piped in. Jou snickered; he elbowed Atemu in the ribs.

"Oww."

"Sorry man; forgot."

"Have your star chips ready to board. Only those duelists with star chips may board." A man in a black suit bellowed to the hoard of duelists in line.

"Your what!" Jou frantically started to pat himself all over in attempt to find the necessary 'ticket'. Jou sunk unto his knees with a river flowing down his face. "Aw man, eliminated before getting on the ship"

"Uh, Jou?" Atemu questioned. He blinked at his degraded friend.

"It's okay man, you can go without me." Jou whimpered and drew circles in the ground.

"Look at your wrist."

Jou glanced at his wrist. There was nothing on it.

"Your other one." Yuugi giggled at this.

Jou lifted his other wrist and found his gauntlet with two chips securely fastened in it. "Alright! I knew I had them." Jou shot up and punched the air. Atemu rolled his eyes.

"Sure you did."

The line was moving quickly and in no time the three males found themselves at the front of the line. Jou was let in without any trouble. Atemu showed them his wrist and walked forward.

"Hold it."

"Yes" Atemu tensed. They were going to say something about Yuugi, he just knew it. The man easily towered over Atemu and glared at him.

"Where's his star chips? No star chips no admittance." The man said.

"He's my brother."

"I don't give a rat's ass if he's the president of the U.S. No star chips, no admittance."

"Look here, I'm not leaving without my brother."

"It's your choice. You want to participate, leave the kid, or else get lost. It's not our problem."

Atemu stared at the men in black that were advancing toward him before turning and walking away.

"Atemu!" Jou yelled. The teen turned around and saw his best friend making his way back to him.

"It's alright Jou. I'll find another way on."

"You sure man?"

"Yes, now go before they kick you out too." Atemu waived Jou off. Jou stood there; looking lost, then he turned around and made his way back into the ship. Atemu walked down the platform and stood amongst the many people who were either rejected or saying goodbye to their family/friends.

"Yuugi stay close to me and hold my hand." Atemu set Yuugi on his feet and grabbed his hand. Yuugi didn't have to be told twice. The teen didn't want to let Yuugi walk amongst so many people but his body was protesting. The Ibuprofen was wearing off.

Atemu scanned the area for another way on board. He walked towards the ship to get a better look. His time was running out. The ship was pulling up its anchor and making its way to set sail.

"Damn. Think Atemu, think." The teen talked to himself. Yuugi giggled at him. Then one of the windows on the cruise liner opened. Atemu recognized Jou and a plan formulated itself in his mind. "Come on Yuugi."

The toddler jogged beside his brothers long strides. Atemu's mind was focused on getting on board that he failed to realize a motorcycle was heading his way.

"Watch out!" yelled the motorist. Atemu saw the oncoming collision and pushed Yuugi out of the way as his body collided with the motorcycle. Both males and the cycle slid on the pavement until it came to a halt.

"Uhh" Atemu moaned. He pushed the cycle off of him and sat up. Yes, the Ibuprofen wore off. He cursed to no one in particular.

"I'm soo sorry." The man began to apologize. He offered Atemu his hand and hoisted the teen up. Atemu brushed himself off and took a good look at the man who ran him over. The man had a deep tan with clear violet eyes. He had earrings dangling from his ears and gold armbands and wristbands on his arms. His clothing consisted of a light purple shirt with cargo pants. His hair was platinum blonde and hung in layers down his shoulders. He looked more boyish than a man.

"It's fine," Atemu winced as he tried to stretch his arms. His midsection constricted and the teen doubled over, "You're not my first accident."

"Huh?" asked the boy.

"I totaled my car today."

"Ahh" He nodded in understanding. "I'm Marik."

"Atemu." Both males shook hands. Atemu placed his hands on his sides in attempt to straighten up without ending back on the ground. His backpack had saved his back from getting torn up but it wasn't spared from the painful bruises he felt were forming. His head shot forward and one word came from his mouth, "Yuugi!"

Instantly Atemu attempted to run towards the direction he pushed the younger. Instead of a run he limped. His eyes darted from place to place the toddler could be but found nothing.

"Yuugi!" yelled the teen. He pushed himself through the crowd in attempt to spot the spiky haired kid.

"No! My bwotha ova thewe" Yuugi's voice traveled to Atemu's ears.

"Yuugi!" Atemu yelled a little louder.

"Come on dear, a little boy such as you shouldn't be here alone. Don't make it difficult for me." It was a women's voice. Atemu clenched his teeth. Breaking through the crowd, he spotted the toddler being dragged off into the opposite direction of himself. Yuugi desperately tried to get out of the women's grip but he wasn't strong enough.

"Yuugi!" Atemu limped towards the youngster.

"Yami!" The young boy's eyes showed relief him. The woman stopped at the sound of Yuugi communicating with someone. Her eyes studied the form of the bedraggled and limping form of the teenager that made his way toward them.

"Do you know him?" asked the woman.

"He my bwotha." Again Yuugi tried to wiggle out of the woman's grip. The woman released him and watched Yuugi dash towards the elder male.

"Yami!" the toddler wrapped himself around his brother's leg.

"Yuugi." The teen grabbed Yuugi's hand and limped off the direction to the ship without hesitation. He paid no heed to the woman who was approaching them.

Atemu sighed. The ship already took off and was making its way through the harbor. There was no way he could catch up to it in state he was in.

"Did you miss it?" asked a voice behind him. Atemu turned around and found Marik.

"Kind of. They wouldn't let Yuugi aboard so I couldn't board. Oh, and this is Yuugi, my brother." He gestured to the young one who clung to his leg.

"Want to be a daredevil?" Marik questioned. Atemu displayed his confusion. Marik then pointed to the bike beside him.

"No." the answer was curt.

"Why not?"

"One reason, Yuugi."

"It's either that or wave Duelist Kingdom goodbye. I'm going." Marik swung unto his bike and revved the engine. Atemu stared at the bike and then back at Yuugi. There were no spare helmets for him or the youngster. Atemu gritted his teeth once more. He had to get on board that ship. Mokuba's life depended on it.

"Fine." Atemu seated Yuugi behind Marik and sat behind Yuugi. Yuugi turned to his brother. "Yuugi I want you to hold on to Marik." The toddler nodded and gripped Marik.

"Alright, and were off!" Marik let go off the throttle and the bike lurched forward. A shriek came from Yuugi and he grabbed on tighter to Marik. Atemu also grabbed onto Marik, making sure that there was no way Yuugi would fall off.

People jumped out of the way and cursed at the driver. They raced down the pier as if hell was at their heels. Marik easily kept up with the ship and now it looked like the two were racing. More than once they almost collided with a person or an object in the way.

An unexpected car got into their way and Marik swerved to the side and took another path. This path led them to the opposite direction of the ship. Marik quickly changed directions but then was forced to slow down after coming to a dead end. The ship was reaching the end of the pier now.

Marik turned around once more and searched for the fastest way to get back on track. He saw stairs and quickly maneuvered his bike through them. They were back on their path.

"If you get us killed, I'll kill you again!" Atemu bellowed over the wind. The only response he got was laughter. Marik sped up and attempted to catch the ship again. The wind whipped into Atemu's eyes and it forced him to down cast his gaze. A bit of adrenaline pulsed in the teens veins. Atemu looked up ahead and saw an abandoned ramp at the very end of the pier. He realized Marik's plan.

"You had this planned didn't you?"

"Yup" Marik throttled the bike even more and it lurched even faster. Atemu's eyes widened when he saw the ship already past the dock by a couple of hundred feet. As soon as the front tire hit the ramp they were airborne. Some people from the ship and pier gasped at the stunt. From his peripheral vision he could see people pointing at them. As the ship came closer, the breath hitched in Atemu's throat. Seconds seem to slow down and it took them almost a lifetime to reach the rail of the ship. Marik lifted the bike a little a bit.

"Were not going to make it!" Atemu yelled.

"Yes we are!" The front tire barely made it over the rail but the back one crashed into the ship and lurched the bike forward. The unexpected impact made Yuugi let go and he slipped out from under Marik and Atemu. Atemu saw this and didn't hesitate to let go himself. He grabbed Yuugi's arm while the other flailed above him in order to get a grip of something. His fingers grabbed the bottom rail and curled around it. Pain shot through his upper body and he almost let go.

"Gaah!" Strength was quickly leaving him and replacing it was unbearable pain. Pain in his back. Pain in his shoulders. Pain in his chest. Pain in his arms. He felt his stitches rip apart in his injured arm. Spots appeared in his vision and Atemu knew he wasn't going to last. Marik quickly appeared at the edge and reached towards Atemu's hand but Atemu had other plans. "Catch!"

Good thing Marik had good hearing because he was ready for what the teen did next. With his last remaining strength, Atemu swung himself to the side for momentum and catapulted Yuugi into the air toward Marik. Seeing Yuugi in safe arms, Atemu succumbed to the pain, released his grip, and plummeted into the frigid waters below.

* * *

**Cliffhanger. Those are evil. I'll try to update by Sunday. **

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? **

**Review.**


	6. Chapter 6

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Hey peeps! I apologize for the long update. I think between getting kicked in head by a horse, college exams, ortho appointment 300 miles away, class, and barrel races I have a pretty good excuse.

**Sorry for the length. I blame my college proffesor. She has been nagging us about detail and now I cant write without describing everything. I'll get worse in the next chapter :( I read this to my sister and she says im John Steinbeck with my details but she said she liked it.**

**I have to thank Velgamidragon for pointing out a huge flaw in my story concering Yuugi's age. I've been calling him a toddler when he is not. Ill change that in the past chapters as soon as I can. And why he talks like a toddler will be explained later in the chapter. And thanks to everybody else who reviewed!**

**Warning: Foul Language Ahead**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, no.**

* * *

Its funny how when your plummeting to your death theirs always one question going through your mind, or for Atemu it was that question…

His eyes were half-lidded and he vaguely was aware of his body. His pupils were dilated in pain and they were focused on the spot where Yuugi had disappeared. His mind was trying to make sense of what happened. It was only a few seconds till his body smacked into torrents of water below. Atemu didn't even react. If he was conscious enough he would have felt as if thousands of needles were being embedded in into his body.

The rabid water quickly claimed its victim and drug him to his watery grave. Atemu couldn't even tell the position he was in. It didn't even register with him that his lungs weren't receiving oxygen. Or the fact that the Co₂ was building up in his pink organs; burning it with its urgency to escape.

No, the only thing Atemu had on his mind was Yuugi. He wished things could have turned out differently. It wasn't fair that everyone was ripped away from the small child. Unable to sustain his own life, Atemu unconsciously let the salty, cold water wash into his lungs; and closed his eyes as he felt his body being tugged deeper into the depths of the ocean…

* * *

Yuugi let out a loud wail as soon as his feet touched the deck. He had seen his brother plunge into the water and he knew that was bad.

"Whewre Yami?" Yuugi clutched on Marik's sleeve and gave it a tug. Marik ignored him and leaned over the rail in order to spot the fallen teenager.

"Hey you!" Marik pointed to a blonde, "Get the ladder ready" And then Marik jumped over the rail and dived into the ocean. Jou stared at the spot where the other blonde had been. He quickly dropped his bag and dashed to get the ladder. Then he swung it over the rail and secured it onto the ship. He only then noticed the tri-color hair of Yuugi's.

"Yuugi? What are you doing here without Atemu?" Jou asked perplexed. The little one turned his tear filled eyes on Jou and tried to point to the ocean.

"Yami thew" He then let out another wail.

"Oh man!" Jou quickly looked over the rail in order to spot, what he assumed, two bodies.

As soon as Marik dived into the water, he cut the water in order to propel himself deeper into the pit. Since it was dark, Marik had a hard time seeing where he was going but he let his senses guide his body. Twice the tanned teen had to come up for air.

"Shit, where are you man?" And Marik dove once more. This time he saw a faint glimpse of something that resembled a hand. Marik didn't think twice before his legs pumped him that direction. Reaching out, he grasped Atemu's hand and darted to the surface.

Luckily, the current was traveling with the ship, so they didn't get left behind. Marik hoisted the unconscious teen over his back and began the tedious swim toward the ship. He thanked who ever that stranger was when he saw the ladder hanging over the ship. Marik grabbed the ladder and came upon a new dilemma. How was he supposed to climb it with dead weight on his back?

As best he could, he placed Atemu over his shoulder and began to climb. He had to stop several times in order to balance the body out. In no time he reached the top and Jou grabbed Atemu and laid him out on the deck. When Marik climbed over the rail he saw two more people accompanying the blonde.

"Atemu, man. Wake up!" Jou lightly slapped his cheeks.

"Move!" Marik yelled before shoving Jou off the semi-dead teen. Yuugi already attached himself to Atemu's side and prevented Marik from doing CPR. "Get this kid out of the way!" he bellowed.

Anzu quickly picked the young one up but handed him to Jou when his hysterics began. Marik on the other hand, pounded the teen's chest twice, and then blew air into the male's mouth. This happened several times before a cough escaped Atemu's mouth. Marik once more repeated the procedure. This time Atemu opened his eyes and vomited water. Quickly Marik turned the teen to his side so the water could dribble out instead of reentering his lungs.

* * *

His lungs burned and every raspy breath he took in made him wince from the pain. Atemu attempted to sit up but his body protested and sent him back to the deck. His vision was still blurry but he could make out four silhouettes. One was especially bulky, and his mind reeled on who he knew was heavy set. His mind didn't get far before a spasm rocked his body and water sputtered out of his mouth.

"Cough it all up" A voice behind him said. Marik grabbed Atemu's shoulders and propped him up and leaned him against the wall of the ship. The backpack had survived its turbulent ride and now proceeded to dig into his back. Atemu moaned his complaint and Jou understood him.

"It's the backpack."

Marik quickly unstrapped it and placed it beside the haggard teen. Atemu leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Oh, how he wished he was at home, in his bed. A coughing fit seized him and more water flew from his mouth. He was getting over the initial shock and his body began communicating with his brain again. But the teen wished it didn't.

If he felt bad before, it was ten times worse now. His legs and arms felt like lead. His muscles on his chest and back were tightened, sending painful jolts through the fibers of any movement. This including breathing. The teen's esophagus was red and raw from the water that came up unnaturally.

A gentle tug on his arm forced the teens eyes open and he looked over at who was trying to get attention. He met tear-filled amethyst eyes.

"Yu..Yu.." Atemu felt new energy surge through him at seeing his younger kin. Ignoring his body protests, Atemu pushed himself up to his feet and looked around himself. Anzu, Jou, Honda, and Marik were standing around him. Yuugi jumped in front of his brother and held his arms out, wanting to be carried.

"Yuugi he's to beat up to bear your weight. I can carry you if you want me too." Jou replied. Atemu threw him a grateful look before reaching down to get his backpack. But before his hand could brush on it, Yuugi dashed over and slung it over his shoulder. He then grabbed Atemu's hand and waited to be led to where ever they were going to stay.

Atemu couldn't help but smile in his state. Out of all the situations, Yuugi was actually looking after him. The teen looked up to his friends and gave them a questioning stare. Understanding him, Jou took the opportunity and began leading the small group to the inside of the ship.

They didn't walk far before the group stopped in front of an enormous room. Duelists were gathered and were trading cards, participating in mock duels, or just conversing. In the middle of the room was a buffet table. From his peripheral vision, Atemu saw Jou's mouth water at the site. Honda was in the same shape. On the floor were mats for sleeping. Atemu spotted an empty corner and limped toward the direction.

People looked up and stared at the bedraggled teen. Atemu was soaked to the bone and blood was dripping from his arm. He left a trail as he walked. The crowd in the room started to whisper amongst each other and kept pointing at them. They didn't know that he was _the_ Atemu who defeated Kaiba. Some of the kids he walked past snickered at his appearance and gave their buddies knowing looks. Apparently everybody already wagered that he would be the first to lose; considering his appearance. Wouldn't they be surprised when they learned his identity.

Reaching the corner, he motioned Yuugi to drop the stuff and that he was free to go. Yuugi nodded enthusiastically and dashed off to a group of kids that were engaged in a card game.

"You okay?" Anzu asked quietly. She was standing behind Atemu with her legs crossed and her left hand was brought up to her breast in a fist. Concern glistened in her eyes as she racked his torn body.

"Ya, I'll be okay. I just need to find a shower and a dryer." The teen just stood there with his body swaying. His eyes were still half-lidded as he decided if it was worth taking a step forward.

"Honda and I saw a bathroom down the hall from here. I'm not sure but I think there's also a laundry room across from it."

"Where are Honda and Jou?"

"Do you have to ask?"

Both of their heads turned to the buffet table and weren't surprised to find two figures raiding the bar.

"Haha, I should have known. Would you mind keeping an eye on Yuugi while I clean up?"

"Sure no problem" Anzu gave him a weak smile. Atemu nodded and picked up the soggy backpack and made his way the direction Anzu pointed.

The blue eyed girl was right, the two rooms were across each other and weren't far from the main room. He first entered the laundry room and spotted two rows of washer and dryers. They were Kenmore.

Atemu dumped the contents of his back pack onto the floor and slowly bent down to separate them. All the wet clothes got ushered into two dryers and the backpack got its separate one. The rest of the packed belongings were food, an air mattress, an air pump, medicine, and matches. Those items were all sealed in an airtight Ziploc bags.

One summer Atemu had gone camping with his friend's family and they taught him how to pack and what to pack when going outdoors. It came in handy when he decided to go to Duelist Kingdom. Seeing that everything was still dry and turning on the dryers, Atemu headed toward the showers.

The teen grabbed a towel that was provided for guests and took a stall. He then turned the shower on the hottest setting. He couldn't wait till the burst of hot streams hit his body. And seeing that all showers usually take time to heat up, he was going to cheat and go for the highest setting.

Stripping of his clothes, Atemu stepped into the stall of steam. As soon as the water hit his muscles a sigh escaped his mouth. Before he could fully enjoy the water, Atemu lowered the temperature.

The water was absolute bliss. His muscles relaxed and began to release the caustic acid that was stored in his aching muscles. The water turned his skin red and Atemu pivoted so his back could get the same treatment.

The aching teen closed his eyes and revved in the complete comfort of the water. Right now he was in heaven. It was quickly interrupted as something sent a hot flash of pain when he angled his body to the shower head. Looking on his arm revealed a gash from his accident. The stitches had ripped open and protruded through his skin. A slow trickle of blood was escaping down his arm and dripped onto the white tile below and down the drain. Atemu frowned at the site.

He poked his head out from the shower curtain to spot anything that could cover it for the remainder of his shower. He saw a white wash cloth sitting on the toilet, grabbed it, and tied it around his wound. Then he returned to the water and stood stationary for about half an hour; occasionally switching sides.

* * *

Yuugi squatted beside a group of people who were dueling. He eyes were trained intensely on the cards and the pictures they showed. Many times he had gone through Atemu's deck just to look at the pictures.

"I activate Trap Hole! Sending your monster to the graveyard." Counteracted a boy with long brown hair with a red hat. The opponent, a boy with teal hair and bug eye glasses gritted his teeth.

"It's not over when it's over!" his voice was nasal and Yuugi mentally cringed away from it.

"On the contrary, I would like to disagree with you Weevil, my two headed king rex will dispose of you. Attack!" Since it was on the floor there were no holograms. Weevil crumpled to the ground and collected his cards.

"I want a rematch Rex"

"Not a chance, I want to go duel somebody worthy. Someone like Atemu Motou." Rex boasted. At hearing his brother's name, Yuugi's head snapped up.

"Athemu?" the little one questioned. The two boys looked at him and snickered.

"What would you know of Atemu? And what's a runt like you doing on a ship going to a tournament?" Rex crossed his arms and looked down at the small kindergartner.

"I bet you don't even know what duel monsters are." Weevil taunted and poked the young boy. Yuugi pouted and scrunched up his face.

"Athemu my bwotha. An I know whath duel monsthews is!"

"Aww the pipsqueak is delusional. He thinks Atemu is his brother. Buzz off kid." Rex and Weevil laughed at him. They then turned around and walked away. Laughing the whole time.

"He my bwotha!" Yuugi yelled after them, but the two were out of ear shot. Yuugi then tried to find something that would capture his attention. He saw Anzu, Honda, and Jou at a table eating themselves silly. Yuugi walked over and climbed on to the bench beside Jou. "Whewe Yami?"

"A..ta..sho.." Jou replied with a full mouth and then swallowed his food. "He's taking a shower. He should be out soon. Don't worry buddy."

"Anything wrong?" Honda asked as he poked his food with his fork.

"Some kidths didn believe me tha Yami is my bwotha."

"Well did you say Yami or Atemu?"

"Athemu, but they still didn believe me." Yuugi pouted even more.

"Don't pay attention to them. You know the truth. We know the truth. That's all that matters. Atemu risked his life for you. How many people can say that?" Honda smiled. Yuugi just nodded; then he saw some kids having another duel and rushed to watch it.

"I guess we can say that he is Atemu's brother." Anzu sighed. The two males laughed at her comment before returning to their food.

* * *

Wrapping a towel around his waist, Atemu stepped out of the shower. He walked over the mirror that was hung on the wall. The image showed him a battered body. He had bruises all over his chest and most likely on his back too. His face somehow avoided being injured and he thanked the God's for that. The only flesh wound he had was on his arm but other than that he just sported black bluish spots.

The shower had done wonders to his muscles but now haziness fell over his eyes and he was having a difficult time keeping them open. Atemu silently made his way out of the shower room and entered the laundry room. Sometime while he was showering, the dryers finished their job and now held the results.

Opening one of the machines, the male fished out a pair of boxers and black cotton pants. Once he changed into his attire, he proceeded to take out the articles of clothing and fold them in a neat stack on top of the white box. Though his body was on the task his mind was elsewhere.

Was it right for him to bring Yuugi along? The kindergartener would have thrown a fit if they were separated but he would have been safe. The stunt earlier could have gone another direction. What if he didn't have enough strength to launch Yuugi to Marik? His arm could have given out at the last second and both of the Motou brothers could have plunged to their death. Or maybe his fingers would have never made contact with ships rail. So many outcomes reeled thorough the teen's mind.

Atemu's mind floated back to his last thoughts. Yuugi. He was too young to lose so many loved ones. He never knew their parents and it wouldn't be a big loss to him since he didn't know them. Their grandpa too. But if Yuugi lost Atemu, how would Yuugi react? The night their grandpa died, Atemu made a vow to the young one that he wouldn't abandon him. And he almost broke it tonight.

"Hello?"

The feeling of dread entered his system once more. Atemu sucked in a deep breath,

"Hello?"

Entering this tournament was a bad idea. How could he be so stupid? All the signs were there. Mokuba getting kidnapped, the car accident, Yuugi getting rejected, the motor cycle, his near death experience. And most of all that second voice…

"Hey, are you okay?" The voice snapped Atemu from his thoughts and he looked at the new person. It was a female with long blonde hair. She had violet eyes and straight teeth. "I don't think that shirt will fit you; not matter how long you stare at it."

"Huh?" The teen gave the woman a questioning look. Her eyebrow went up and she nodded to his hands. Dumbfounded, he looked to see that he spaced out while looking at one of Yuugi's shirts. "Oh, this is my brothers."

"I'm guessing that would be the kid who looks like you?" The woman laughed to herself.

"Ya that would be him." Atemu sighed wearily and folded up the shirt and reached for another one.

"Your acting like a truck ran you over,"

Atemu couldn't help but laugh at the statement, "You have no idea"

"Would it explain why your black and blue?"

"Possibly."

"I'm Mai Valentine." Mai leaned over and offered her hand.

"Atemu Motou." Atemu shook her hand. Mai's expression fell.

"You're Atemu? The guy who beat Kaiba?"

Atemu nodded his head and turned back to the folded clothes. He reached over to his backpack and began stuffing his belongings into it. The cloth in his arm began to seep blood through.

"Nice to meet you, wow; and everybody was betting you were a first timer." Mai laughed to herself. "Well do you want me to walk you back to the room, or should I meet you there?"

"Give me a moment and we can go together. You can meet my friends."

Mai nodded her head and crossed her arms. After he made sure he had everything he needed, the teen grabbed a white tee shirt and threw it over himself. When he stood up, black spots covered his vision and he grabbed onto one of the dryers to keep his balance. He had to blink a couple of times before they disappeared.

The room grew dark when the switch was flipped and the two people casually walked down the hall to the main event room. His friends were sitting at a table indulging in the never ending buffet. Yuugi was across the room watching a duel.

"Hey guys, this is Mai" Atemu gestured towards the blonde. Jou's mouth opened when he took a glimpse of Mai. Honda had to elbow him in the side for him to regain his composure. Anzu rolled her eyes in the background. "Well I think I'm going to go crash."

"You sure don't want to eat anything?" the brunette asked.

"Nah, my throat hurts a little too much. I'll have breakfast tomorrow. Atemu nodded off and went to the corner he staked out earlier. He got out his air mattress and the air pump and proceeded to turn it on. While that was going, Atemu pulled out Yuugi's starry pajamas.

"Yuugi!" the kindergartner turned his head to the direction his name was called. In seeing his brother, Yuugi reluctantly got up and walked over.

"Wha." He replied. Atemu laughed.

"Time for bed."

"No."

"Yuugi, please."

"No"

Atemu grabbed the edge of Yuugi's shirt and pulled it off and replaced it with his pajama top. He then buttoned it up. Then came the pants. Atemu chuckled again. Yuugi was going to be hard to subdue and tomorrow most likely he was going to crash midday.

"Did you eat?"

Yuugi shook his head.

"You need to eat." A pout came across his face, "No exception Aibou. Go to Jou and tell him how unreasonable I am while he gets you plate while I set up our bed." Yuugi pouted even more before he rushed off to Jou. Atemu watched while Jou laughed and got up to get more food. Yuugi climbed onto the bench and sat beside Honda. Mai sat across from him and smiled at the young one.

Atemu turned back to the mattress and turned the pump off. He got out sheets and began dressing the mattress. "Pillows!" He exclaimed. How could he forget pillows? And he knew where he left them. They were sitting on his bed. He hadn't planned on bringing an air mattress but the teen knew that after the accident with the car he would need something that supported his body a little. And after the motorcycle and the sea, he was sure glad that he had brought it. He looked back to the table.

Everyone looked at home and even Yuugi fit into the environment. They laughed and teased while throwing food around. From his point of view, he could tell Jou had the hot's for Mai. That was good, Jou needed someone to rein him in every once in a while and Mai looked like the kind of woman that could do it.

Atemu thought of his own love life. He never had a girlfriend but he did have a few crushes before his parents died. He didn't want a girl. He had neither the time nor the money or the desire. Anzu liked him, that he knew but he couldn't see her more than a friend. The teen looked over to the mattress and almost, almost just went to sleep but he got up and limped to the group.

He sat down next to Mai and buried his head in his arms.

"An then it cowapsed." Yuugi made a sound as if something was crashing down.

"Yuugi eat your food." Jou motioned to the food.

"No."

"Come on buddy, if ya eat it your free ta go."

"Not hungwee."

"Atemu…" Jou groaned. Atemu raised his head and rested his chin on his forearm. He blew his bangs out of his face and stared at his best friend. "He won't eat and he told me that you told him that he had to eat."

"And you think I can help because…"

"Because you're his brother. He has to listen to you. Plus I don't want to be the bad guy." Jou grinned sheepishly.

"You're such a wimp." Atemu turned his gaze to his brother. "Aibou, eat." His voice was punctual. Yuugi stuck his tongue out and grabbed his fork and began to eat.

"How old is he? He's so cute." Mai exclaimed.

"He's five."

"Five? He doesn't sound like a five year old. More like a two or three years at most." The surprise was very apparent in her voice. Atemu sighed again. Sleep. That's all he could think of. He didn't really want to go in detail why Yuugi was the way he was. It kind of irritated him. Yuugi could have turned out a lot worse. But he replied anyway.

"Right when Yuugi started talking, our parents died and he clammed up. He didn't speak for a year. Again right when he started to utter words, our grandpa died and again, he stopped. He started to speak about 3-4 months ago. So his speech is off but he's getting better every day. Ha, though he likes to play that he has no idea what I'm saying on some days"

"Oh," Mai sounded like she had misjudged Atemu's parenting skills. She looked down ashamed a bit.

"Don't worry about it, many people make the same mistake." She gave him a weak smile.

"Well guys, I think I'm going to hit the sack…again. Can you guys get Yuugi to bed in about twenty minutes? If you guys have trouble, just tell him he'll be in trouble with me in the morning." Atemu turned to Yuugi, "Alright Aibou? I want you in bed in twenty."

Yuugi didn't say anything and just pouted. Atemu said his goodnights and left. As soon as he collapsed onto the bed, his muscles groaned underneath him and relaxed in that painful but pleasurable feeling. His eyes hadn't been closed for five seconds before he slipped into the land of dreams

* * *

"Alright Yug, time for bed." Jou crossed his arms and looked down. Yuugi sighed and knew it would be no use in fighting. Plus he was getting tired. A yawn escaped his lips. Jou grabbed the kindergarteners hand and walked him over to the mattress in the corner.

Atemu had stolen a pillow from the nearby mats. He lay sideways facing the wall. One of his arms was underneath the pillow while the other was wrapped uselessly around him in trying to keep the heat from escaping. His body shook visibly. Yuugi went to the backpack and pulled out a sheet and tried to drape it over his brother. But his small size and the movement of the mattress was making it impossible.

Jou grabbed an edge of the sheet and helped Yuugi cover his brother up. Yuugi then climbed to the other side and stared at Atemu's sleeping face. He reached over and grabbed a lock of Atemu's hair and entangled his hand in it before sighing and falling asleep.

Jou walked away with a smile on his face.

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**Wordy? And you guys thought I was joking. Seven pages on Word 2010. **

**What did you guys think? Any other flaws you guys have noticed? Tell me, I won't bite. Next chapter we finally arrive on the island; and the fun begins. I'll try to update before Thanksgiving. Im writing the next chapter as we speak.**

**My brother is a huge outdoor person and the packing is true. You want to put stuff in air tight bags so it doesnt get ruined in case you get into an accident.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**Review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Three words: College and Equines. **

**I am very mixed up with this chapter. I like the way it turned out but then I hate it so much. I feel like I could have written this so much better than I did. But considering that you guys are waiting for an update and I had the chapter written, it didnt leave me much choice. So be ready for a very poorly written chapter.**

**And yes I have stumbled upon writers block. If you guys have any, and I mean any ideas at all, please share them with me. I dont know if I mentioned this before by I have the plot planned out and the ending. So I know where Im going with this. I just dont know how to get there. Well...I do but then the ending would be rushed. And I want to take the time and develop the story more. So any input will be appreciated!**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! XD**

**Disclaimer: By the time I get out of college I will be about a quarter of a million in the hole. Maybe in twelve years i'll be able to change this. But for now I own nothing. Except for the plot.**

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It was quiet. Too quiet. Like the eye of the storm just appeared. The quietness was deafening as Atemu registered the sounds around him. Any minute now the eye would pass and the brutality of nature would hit. But nothing came. No talking. No shuffling of the feet. Not even the digestion of food. This just didn't make sense. Yuugi was never this quiet. There was always some sort of sound coming from the youngster. But the eye of the storm remained.

Quickly Atemu scrambled up; only to be bounced to the ground off the air mattress. Hazily Atemu blinked and rubbed the back of his head. He looked at his surroundings and true to the quietness, the room was empty.

Turning back to the mattress, there was a note neatly folded up by his backpack. And alongside it were Yuugi's pajamas. Carefully he reached out to the note and scanned its contents:

_Atemu,_

_I thought you needed some more sleep considering what happened to you yesterday. The tournament doesn't start till noon. I took Yuugi with us so you could get your rest. Don't worry I fed him._

_Jou_

The teen sighed. Oh well what is done is done. He preferred for his brother to stay with him. After all this was a new place and he didn't know what kind of trouble existed in this new territory. Heck, he didn't even know what the island looked like. It was like jumping into a tank full of sharks; head first and eyes closed.

Atemu felt loads better than he did the day before, except his muscles still protested when he flexed him. It was like there was a rubber band in his muscles and it was being stretched to the limit. His injured arm felt like the rubber band had stretched too far and was idly bouncing off its confinement. A quick groan escaped his lips when he tested it.

As efficiently as he could, Atemu started to pack up. First he deflated the mattress, and then he folded up all the sheets. Making sure no one was around, Atemu stripped down to his boxers and pulled on fresh clothes. There was a mirror on the opposite side of the mirror and the teen caught a glimpse of his back. There was long bluish bruise running down his spine. Atemu quickly pulled a black tee over his torso. He did not want to be reminded what condition his body was in.

The packing process was quick and during it he found a bottle of ibuprofen that the medic had given him. Cursing himself for forgetting about it yesterday, he swallowed three pills; silently hoping he didn't overdose himself. He grabbed the backpack and took his exit off the ship.

The sky was blue and the island around him was full of trees and shrubbery. Fallen leaves littered the grass; a clear indication that fall had graced itself. Clouds sparsely decorated the heavens with their white fluffiness. Cotton Candy Clouds. A slight breeze rustled the teen's hair.

The clock on his phone read eleven o'clock which gave him an hour to find Yuugi and the gang. He wished Jou had told him where they had gone. Leave it to the blonde of the group to leave and not tell anyone where they were heading. Atemu's tongue itched in reprimanding the blonde.

The highest point of the island was a big castle. From his point of view the structure looked old and had acquired the yellow tinge associated with past time relics. Four towers protruded through the sky and stood proud. The castle had seen better days and looked like it would crumble any minute. Yet it stood there and probably would for many generations to come. It was like a message stating that no matter how tough things get, there's always a way to bi-pass your troubles.

Common sense told Atemu that the announcement for the start of the tournament should be by the building and decided to start his search there. The path he walked on showed signs of use. Along its borders trees shot up from the ground. White birch, Maple, and Fire Elm where the few the teen recognized. All the others were a mystery to him.

A breeze picked up again and it rustled the leaves. Some even came off and floated and twirled in the air. The wind brushed his shoulders and sung a tune in his ears. The invisible movement seemingly wrapped itself around the young youth and caressed him with its dry touch. The wind came from behind and it urged him forward. Pushing him onward with little pressure.

The tune in Atemu's ear had him captivated. It was a whistle following an unrecognizable lullaby but it was enough to have the teen's attention diverted. His footsteps had changed directions and had unconsciously begun their way into the dense shrubbery of another path.

His crimson eyes had glazed over. Every thought had escaped his mind. His hands had dropped to his sides and awkwardly hung limp. The whistle had increased in volume. As his feet carried him closer to the unknown destination, the sound heightened. The surrounding area became darker. Movement of something had begun on the outskirts of the path.

Then there was another sound. A whisper. It was barely audible over the whistle that Atemu almost didn't catch it. His mind tried to register it but it seemed the harder he tried, the louder the whistle became.

The path became darker and shadows started to travel around the teen's feet. But Atemu didn't see them; his mind was transfixed on the sounds in his ears. If a train were to be heading his way, the teen probably would not have taken notice of it. The whisper became frantic and tried to increase its volume but its attempts were futile.

And then Atemu caught his foot on a rut and almost went flying. The trance was broken and the darkness had receded. But the whisper was still there and it sounded relieved. Atemu still couldn't figure out what it was saying but was happy when it went away.

Looking up he realized he was heading the wrong direction. A chill went up his spine at realizing something was going on. He looked down at his puzzle and was surprised that it had a faint glow to it. He tried to touch it but quickly retracted his fingers when it burned him. Yes, something was definitely going on. Quickly he turned around and almost sprinted up to the castle.

* * *

Atemu scanned the area for any signs of his friends. But none were seen. The only people that seemed present were a few eager duelist awaiting something. Atemu looked at his phone and the clock read eleven forty-five.

Damn, he thought, they should be here. Wanting to know what was going on; Atemu approached a duelist who seemed to stare of into space.

"Excuse me?" Atemu asked. The boy, about 14 years old, turned to him.

"Yes"

"When does the tournament start?"

"Oh, in about 15 minutes. Pegasus made an announcement that it would be all over the island and for everyone to spread out. He also said you have to gain ten star chips in order to make it to the finals."

Atemu groaned and covered his face with his hand. He mumbled a thank you, and started towards the stairs. Everything had to be complicated. Before he descended, Atemu tried to look over the island to see if maybe he could spot the group. But to his disappointment all he saw were trees. Guess it had to go the old fashion way and he went down the stairs. Cursing himself the whole way down.

* * *

Yuugi trudged heavily behind the group. It had been a couple of hours since they left the ship and he was feeling miserable. When they started out, he was carried by Jou but then he set him down after ten minutes and told him he had to walk. Yuugi didn't mind at first but when they came upon a long staircase and he had climbed it; he begged to be carried. Not only that but then they descended and they walked for another couple of miles in order to find a good dueling spot. He repeatedly asked to be carried but the group ignored him.

It looked like the group wasn't going to stop anytime soon so Yuugi just stopped and sat down. His feet were killing him and he ached to rest. As soon as his butt hit the dirt the incredible feeling of relief swept through him but was quickly replaced with pain.

"Ey! Yug what are you doing?" Jou turned around.

"Ima tiwed"

"Well too bad, we didn't come for a vacation. So get up and let's get going." Anzu said sternly. She was getting very irritated with the kindergartner. All Yuugi did was complain for the past couple of hours and it was eating the girls nerves.

"Maybe we should rest." Honda interjected.

"No, we can't. The tournament starts in about 10 minutes and we still haven't found a dueling arena."

"But Yuu-"

"Look we came here for the tournament, and were going to do the tournament." Tea said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Seriously Jou, why did you take Yuugi. You could have at least woken Atemu up."

"Hey I wasn't thinking. Plus Atemu was wreck last night. He needs the extra sleep."

"Since when do you think!" Anzu and Jou had gotten into each other's faces. Jou had his fist raised while Anzu hands were balled by her sides.

"Guys! Let's not argue, what is done is done." Honda got in between the two friends and attempted to break them up.

"Fine, but I'm getting fed up with him and his whining. I don't care if he's Atemu's brother, he needs to learn manners." Anzu turned around and stalked over to the youngster. "Look Yuugi, you better man up and stop acting like a child. We don't have time or the patience to be putting up with your crap."

Yuugi just looked up at her and didn't say anything. His feet protested but he got up anyway. Satisfied, Anzu took the lead and the group began on their way again. Yuugi trailed behind. Lost in his own thoughts.

* * *

**I think the next chapter will jump into the night. I cant think of anything else that would happen. Stupid writer's block. **

**The title is starting to make sense! Haha, not really...**

**I know, I just know, I'm absolutely positive that this chapter is reeking with grammatical errors. PLEASE let me know where they are. And if some parts seem rushed please inform me also. Or if they make no sense. Unless its supposed to not make sense. You learn from your mistakes. So please dont be scared to let me know.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? **

**Review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I got a beta! leiar! So that is why this update took forever. I had the chapter written last Sunday and for some reason it got marked spam so my beta didnt get a chance to edit it till Friday. But I'm so happy. I got a beta!**

**Chapter is pretty short but a few things happen. For some reason the line break isnt working after the first two paragraphs; there is one there. **

**Thank you to all those who reviewed!**

**Im going on winter break tomorrow and do not know how often I can update. I will be riding 10+ horses a day. So that is my excuse. But rest assure Chapter nine will be up before Christmas! Maybe even before that.**

**Disclaimer: I love my horses. But they are expensive. So for now Takahashi still owns YGO. But I own the plot!**

* * *

_Nighttime came swiftly and abundantly, covering the island with a dark blanket. It earnestly scavenged the plains in order to conceal all traces of light. Its greedy paws sought to destroy all evidence of the sun's rays, but littering the nighttime sky were billions upon billions of stars. There were all shapes and sizes, but they all shone with the same brilliant light. The sky was free of clouds, so nothing was hindering their ability to shine._

_Along with the stars, the moon also graced the night with its presence. It was full tonight and cast its heavenly glow on the island below. It was bright enough to cast shadows on the ground. And indeed there were shadows. Hardly distinguishable from objects and figments of the imagination, they took on the shape of gruesome nighttime demons..._

* * *

Atemu was amazed how drastically the island changed. This was a new experience for him. Domino City was usually ridden with light pollution; but here, nighttime took on a new meaning. He wanted to enjoy this adventure but being alone was not fun. Twice he had tripped over his own feet because he couldn't see where he was going. His eyes were not doing well and he kept squinting to figure out what was ahead of him. Shapes and shadows morphed together making it impossible to things apart. The noises he heard made him certain that something was going to jump out at him and eat him alive.

"If Jou saw me now, he would never let me forget it." The teen mumbled under his breath. He shoved his hands in his pockets and continued forward. The air was cold and Atemu pulled out a hoodie from his backpack. But even when it was on, he couldn't stop the involuntary shivers that ran through his body. To combat the cold even more, Atemu hunched his shoulders and pressed his arms to his side to retain as much body heat as possible. He silently hoped that Yuugi was warm enough.

On that note, where were his friends and younger brother? He had searched the island but found no trace of either party. Granted he was only able to walk a small portion of it, but there should have been at least a sign of them. Earlier he had dueled two people and neither of them had seen the four. From those two duels he had accumulated a total of six star chips. The duels were easy and Atemu didn't drag them out. He had hoped that he would catch up to the gang by now. It seemed that someone had other plans.

Then there was this… this whisper. Atemu thought he had heard the end of it when he broke the trance earlier, but considering his luck lately, it had reappeared. It whispered gibberish to him. Like it was talking in a different language, but it wasn't a language he recognized.

The teen had come to the conclusion that it was a figment of his imagination. He had swallowed three 800mg Ibuprofen pills and it was probably the side effects of an almost overdose. Not that he was trying to kill himself.

The whisper was talking to him right now, but as usual, he didn't have a clue what it was saying. He felt like Kaiba at the moment, telling himself it wasn't real. That no such phenomena existed. Atemu thought of Kaiba's reaction and smirked.

Trying to ignore the 'fake' whisper, Atemu walked on in an attempt to find his friends. But deep down, he felt grateful for the whisper. Real or not, he had some kind of company. Though he couldn't understand it, he wasn't alone.

* * *

_Shadows weren't the only thing plaguing the island. Trees looked like they would snag you and keep you prisoner in their branches forever. Paths had been divided into hundreds of segments; creating an obstacle ridden course. You had to think twice on where to walk because you didn't know if you were about to step on a darkened portion of the path or into a hole that would swallow you._

_Accompanying the night air were the creatures of night, each giving off a sound. Crickets echoed in the frigid air, grasshoppers played a melodic tune, and owls hooted. The wind rustled the dead branches and leaves, making the hair on your neck stand up…_

* * *

Yuugi was ready to die. His feet hurt. His stomach growled. His eyes were red. And he wanted to rest. They had walked all day, stopping only once for Jou to duel.

Now it was nighttime and the youngster was sure they would stop. But no, they kept walking and the sky kept getting darker. The stars amazed Yuugi. Never in his short life had he seen so many balls of light at the same time. His eyes were glued to the night sky as they kept walking.

"Ahh, I think we should set up camp here." Exclaimed Jou and he plopped down on a patch of grass. They had stopped in a small clearing with trees surrounding the area. Off center of the clearing was a stump.

Realizing they had stopped, Yuugi also sat down. He looked up at the stars once more and traced them with his eyes. He tried to relax but it seemed the nighttime breeze and his stomach wouldn't let him. Unwillingly, Yuugi got up and waddled over to Jou and tugged on his sleeves.

"I'm hungwee" the kindergartner complained.

"Me too buddy. Don't worry we'll get some grub in you." Jou smiled at Yuugi, who nodded weakly.

"Where Yami?"

"Atemu? I don't know. Hopefully somewhere near. Either we'll find him or he'll find us."

"I wan Yami now"

"Yuugi don't start your whining. Jou just told you that Atemu will come. And when he does, I'll kill him." Anzu retorted. Her patience had worn out a long time ago and any sound from the boy sent her over the edge.

"Anzu you could be a little nicer." Jou complained at seeing Yuugi's eyes well up with tears. "He's just a little kid."

"I don't care. I'm tired of his whining."

"No one is forcing you to listen to it."

Anzu was already unpacking her own supplies. She brought up a tent and was trying to set it up. Honda had left a while ago and reappeared with firewood in his arms. Yuugi sat down next to Jou and stared at his feet.

"Cheer up Yug, Atemu will come soon." Yuugi nodded absentmindedly. "So what's for dinner?"

"Boiled vegetables." Honda replied with a smug smirk. He had already lit the fire and a pot of vegetables was cooking. The flames were licking the bottom of the pot as if they were dancing.

"Whaaa! I'm going to kill you Honda!" Jou lunged at the brunette and both of the males went toppling to the ground; barely missing their dinner. "I don't want no stinking vegetables!"

"Tough Luck. Did you bring anything? Of course you didn't" Honda replied.

"How about you Anzu? Did you bring anything?" Jou looked at her hopefully.

"Nope" And she quietly tucked away the sack full of food behind her.

"Yes you did!" Jou lunged for the sack. Anzu just lifted it out of the way and Jou crashed into the ground. "Why can't you share?"

"You didn't ask."

"Didn't you know Anzu, Jou never learned manners?" Honda had gotten up and crossed his arms.

"Why you!" and Jou lunged at Honda once more and began to fight.

"Guys! Behave!" Anzu scolded. It seemed to Yuugi that everyone had forgotten about him.

The kindergartner looked behind him and dense shrubbery met his gaze. He wanted his brother more than food and warmth. The need to be with his sibling was choking Yuugi every time he thought of Atemu. He feared abandonment more than anything else.

He looked back at the group. They were occupied in their own world. Jou and Honda were wrestling on the ground while Anzu was yelling at them. No, they wouldn't miss him if he went looking for Atemu. Yuugi stood up quickly and swiftly ran into the woods behind him.

One thing Yuugi didn't expect was the darkness. The sun had set about twenty minutes ago and it plunged the island into total darkness. Back at the campsite there was a fire, making it hard to tell how dark it really was. The little boy grew afraid almost immediately and tried to turn back, only to face more shrubbery, more trees, and more darkness. Fear crawled up his chest and eliminated all logic.

Yuugi ran. He ran as fast as his legs would allow him. Left, right, straight. Any direction seemed plausible and the youngster took any turn that presented itself to him. He flinched at shadows and trees. Tears leaked from his eyes and his nose got stuffy. His legs were getting heavier by the minute and soon he was forced to stop. Realizing he was lost, and there was nothing he could do about it, Yuugi sat down and curled up in ball. Letting his tears run down his face, Yuugi wished again that Atemu was with him.

A twig snapped. Yuugi's head immediately shot up and he fearfully tried to find the source of the sound. More rustling and Yuugi's breath hitched in his throat. His eyes went wide as the bushes to the side of him began to move.

* * *

Atemu kept on walking, determined to find his friends. Thoughts of murdering the gang crossed his mind. No matter what happens, they shouldn't be separated. And what happened to the saying "no man left behind"? Well he sure felt left behind. Atemu gritted his teeth. Oh yes, he was going to murder them.

Ahead of him he heard some kind of commotion. It was faint. If he had kept on with his musings, he would have surely missed it. As he got closer, his eyes registered a faint glow coming from a clearing. It looked like a small fire. The voices became louder and he almost instantaneously recognized the voices of Jou and the others.

Atemu broke into a run and followed the path until he was staring at the scene before him. Jou and Honda were on the ground fighting. Anzu was standing beside the fire, stirring a pot while yelling at the duo. There was a tent pitched up off to the side and two sleeping bags lay beside it.

"Guys!" Atemu exclaimed. Jou, Anzu, and Honda looked up.

"Atemu!" the three yelled back. Atemu looked around their makeshift campsite for another familiar face. When he didn't find it, he turned back to the trio.

"Where's Yuugi?"

* * *

_Yes night was here. And it was staying for a full twelve hours._

* * *

**When I wrote Tristan saying "Boiled vegetables" I imagined him saying it in his abridged voice from LK. Haha.**

**Comments? Questions? Concerns?**

**Review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the long wait. I have my reasons. If I dont update for awhile theres usually a reason posted on my profile. :)**

**In my opinion this isnt one of my best chapters. Im so happy that I got to update on New Years Day though!**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed! Happy New Year!**

**Disclaimer: In my dreams.**

* * *

Yuugi stared wide eyed at the bushes behind him. As they rustled more, new tears trickled down his face. At that moment in time he regretted leaving the campsite. It didn't matter that back at camp, everybody ignored him- at least he would be alive. Here with an unknown predator lurking in the bushes, death was eminent.

After the death of their grandpa, Atemu told Yuugi that death was a part of life. You couldn't escape it. It was something you embrace it when it calls for you and thank the stars when it spares you. But Atemu also told him that if you believed it wasn't your time, then you should fight for your life. Yuugi felt just that. He didn't know how to fight for his life but he sure was going to try. So imagine his surprise when a blonde lady appeared out of the bushes.

"Yuugi! What are you doing here!" Mai exclaimed when she saw Yuugi in the dirt. Yuugi took one look at her before flinging himself into her arms with new tears running down his face. Mai knelt down and picked up the kindergartner.

"I was lookwen foe Athemu" Yuugi blubbered. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and cried some more. His tiny little body shook with the spasms that rocked his body. He was relieved that somebody he knew had found him.

Mai patted his back rhythmically while walking back to her own campsite. A series of thoughts ran through her mind on why Yuugi was separated from Atemu. She had sensed the protectiveness coming from the older brother last night and was surprised to find Yuugi alone. Surely they hadn't gotten into a fight and Atemu abandoned him because of it. Atemu was better than that, but then again she only met him yesterday.

In minutes the duo arrived at the camp Mai had set up. It was nestled beneath a huge oak tree and the tent was pitched underneath the branches. A quaint fire was burning a few feet away from the tent and the heat could be felt from where Mai was standing. Two logs were neatly placed beside the fire to act as benches. It was a very small clearing but it was big enough to fit another tent and still retain the cozy feeling. A creek could be heard nearby.

Mai set Yuugi down on a log by the fire. The boy's tears had dried up and he now somberly gazed at his hands. The blonde gal disappeared into the tent for a few moments and then reappeared with some food in her hands.

"I bet you're hungry. Here's a granola bar for now. I'm going to cook dinner right now. Hope you like chicken and rice." Mai handed Yuugi a granola bar. He grabbed it and quickly began to eat it. The gal turned around and put a pot over the fire and dumped two packets into it. Mai supervised the dinner but occasionally her eyes strayed over to the petite form sitting on the log.

"Where's your brother?" Mai asked.

"I dunno. We lefth him sleewing on the shwip. Jou said he catch up when he wake up. But no Yami when night came. So I thought I wook for him but got wost." Yuugi replied. His eyes were filling up with tears again. "I wan Yami"

"Don't cry Yuugi. I'm sure Atemu is looking for you right now. I bet he won't sleep tonight until he finds you. He won't abandon you. So turn that frown upside down."

Mai wondered why Jou took Yuugi. She was pretty sure that Atemu didn't mind getting up if it was for Yuugi. Why did Jou take Yuugi?

* * *

The bodies in front of him were pale, motionless. Fear glinted in their eyes as they looked at the person in front of him. Dressed in form fitting jeans with a black jacket, he looked intimidating. Usually black apparel shrinks you down, making you look smaller but for some unknown reason it intensified the presence of the male.

Atemu looked bonified crazy. Emotions ran through his eyes as they narrowed and reddened. His hands slowly formed into fists as his shoulders tensed.

"Yuugi. Where." Atemu wasn't asking, he was demanding. The gang's answer was silence. Yuugi was not in the tent nor was he sitting by the fire. Jou nervously looked at the spot the youngster had been occupying. Empty.

The silence was Atemu's answer. They had lost his little brother. There wasn't an excuse for that. Atemu snarled and the eye of wadjet appeared on his forehead. His millennium puzzle glowed. The air seemed to drop a couple of degrees.

"You lost my brother!" without thinking Atemu lunged at Jou and grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the ground. He then climbed on Jou and slugged him in the face. Atemu grabbed his collar again and slammed Jou into the ground. Someone behind Atemu grabbed his jacket and pulled Atemu off of Jou. It was Honda. Atemu didn't hesitate. He kneed Honda in the stomach.

There was no reason in Atemu. He couldn't see straight and the only thing he did see was that his brother was lost. And the three people in front of him were the ones responsible. He kicked Honda in the gut. Atemu turned to Anzu.

The whispering was suddenly there. Most likely yelling at him for the hurt he had caused around him; and probably telling him to stop before he hurt anyone else.

It seemed the brighter his puzzle glowed the louder the voice in his head became. Besides the voice, there was raw power coursing in his veins. It made him feel strong, unbeatable. It was a weird feeling but Atemu embraced it and tried to harness it.

Everything around him became darker. A warm feeling developed in both of his palms. Shadows started to leak around him and latched on to anything they could. Some even tried to attach themselves to Atemu but the glow from the puzzle prevented them doing so.

Yet the whisper was shouting at him and with a series of unintelligible words, Atemu broke through his haze and looked around him. Anzu stood in front of him, shaking. Atemu narrowed his eyes before turning around and seeing his two male friends on the ground.

Jou was spitting blood out of his mouth as he sat up. Honda was on the ground clutching his middle. The whisper went back to whispering to him and it urged him forward. Atemu remembered that his brother was still out there and he left the camp site without a second glance at the damage he caused.

* * *

Atemu walked swiftly through the trees. The eye of wadjet was still on his forehead and the puzzle cast a glow. From these two things the path in front of him was illuminated and he was having no trouble navigating through the dense shrubbery. Also, the moon was out, lighting the path.

"Yuugi!" Atemu yelled into the forest. There was no response. The fear was starting to build up in Atemu's chest. It was a choking feeling, making it harder to breathe as the minutes went by. Where was Yuugi?

"Yuugi!" He broke into a jog. His eyes scanned the forest around him, searching the ground, the trees, even the bushes for any sign of disturbance. Atemu ran faster. Did someone kidnap his brother? Were they going to hold him for ransom? Was he never going to see him again?

The whispering stopped; and so did Atemu. The quietness in his head was unnerving and even though every fiber in his being urged him to keep on searching, something else was telling him to stay put. Atemu was on high alert. He listened carefully to all the sounds around him and tried to pick up any he was missing. His body was tense as if he was expecting someone to attack.

To the right of him bushes were rustling. Atemu spun around and squinted his eyes to get a better look. A golden glow was making its way forward to the teen and Atemu stepped back. The whisper returned. It growled softly in his head as if it recognized the intruder. A white haired male stepped out of the shadows.

He had white hair that fell over his shoulders and reached to the middle of his back. It was also spiked a little but gravity prevented it from standing up. Smoldering brown eyes were slanted with mischief dancing in them. His apparel was casual. A striped shirt covered with a light blue jacket. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Brown slacks adorned his bottom half with regular tennis shoes. On his chest was a ring with the eye wadjet glowing brightly.

"Ah just the person I was looking for" the male spoke. Atemu stayed silent. His lips were pursed into a white line. The new male walked around Atemu; sizing him up. Atemu stayed put. From the growling in his head, it could be assumed the male was foe.

"At first I thought they were joking when they said the Pharaoh had awakened. I brushed it off not thinking twice about it. But after you beat the priest, I knew they weren't lying. My search began immediately and at first I followed the priest, thinking he would lead me to you. No such luck." The male paused and turned his back to Atemu, "And then I heard you were going to be at this tournament."

The male paused once more and turned to face Atemu, who at the moment was frozen on the spot. This man here was searching for him? Possibly stalking him? Impossible. He had no idea what he was talking about. What Pharaoh? And what did it have to do with him?

"I think you got the wrong person" Atemu stated calmly. This only made the male smirk at him. He then pointed to the glowing puzzle and then at Atemu's forehead.

"Oh I think I got the correct person." The pointers on the ring pointed towards Atemu and shot out a golden beam. The puzzle reacted and shot out its own beam deflecting its opponent's and fizzling out into the air. The same power Atemu felt back at the campsite was returning to him but this time it was stronger; more tangible.

"What do you want." Atemu asked. He was kind of freaked at what had happened and it seemed the whisper was getting irritated as the minutes passed. Atemu wondered what he had gotten himself into; and how he did it.

"Easy, I want your soul." The male shot out with more beams from his artifact.

At that moment, Atemu felt detached from his body. But at the same time his body was moving, ducking, and retaliating. No more was the whisper in his head; it was more like _he _was the whisper now. He felt as if he was in one of Jou's video games. He could see everything that was happening but he had no control of his body. Atemu attempted to move his right hand.

"أتمّت لا" The whisper was not a whisper anymore but a voice. Though he had no idea what it said, Atemu got the gist of it. It had said don't.

"But it's my body!" Atemu tried to protest but it ignored him. His voice wasn't even heard because the male made no movement in response to the strange remark. Instead the words bounced around as if they were in a cave. There was nothing he could do but watch what was happening through his own eyes, with no control over anything.

It seemed the whisper had knowledge of the power he was using because he was using the puzzle against the male. But then again, the male was also using his own artifact. The magic of the two items kept colliding and disintegrating.

"It seems that I underestimated you." The male said after their magic collided. "I didn't expect you to know how use the millennium puzzle."

Atemu wanted to respond but his voice was stuck in his throat. Then with no warning, Atemu was thrust back into his body. He wanted to flex his arms and stretch his legs but not in front of the male.

"Who are you?" asked Atemu. The male laughed again. A maniac laugh and it sent shivers down Atemu's body.

"I am the great Thief King Bakura." Bakura replied with another bout of laughter. He started to back into the shadows. "And mark my words, I will get your soul and send it to the shadow realm, Pharaoh."

Another beam of light was hurled at Atemu and again the puzzle deflected it but by the time Atemu's eyes recovered from the brightness, Bakura had made his escape. Atemu made no attempt at following him. He wanted to dwell on what happened but first he had to find Yuugi. Atemu took off in the opposite direction Bakura had gone.

"Yuugi, where are you?" Atemu asked himself. He broken into another jog and he was guided by the glow from his puzzle. The eye was still on his forehead. The whispering began once more but this time it was leading him. Atemu had no idea what it was saying but he made a turn every time it uttered a word. Pretty soon he spotted a fire a few feet away.

With no hesitation he burst through bushes into another campsite. A smaller one. There was a tent pitched up to the side with a fire burning in front of it. Then Mai emerged from the tent.

"Atemu!" Mai exclaimed at seeing the teen. She momentarily forgot what she was doing and just stared at Atemu. Or she just stared at the glowing eye on his forehead.

"Have you seen Yuugi?" Atemu asked. Hope and dread was laced in his voice. Hope that Yuugi was here and dread that he was not.

"Ya, he's sleeping in the tent." Mai replied with her eyes still glued to his forehead. Immediately the puzzle dimmed and the eye disappeared as Atemu breathed a sigh of relief. But he didn't relax just yet. He marched toward the tent and peeked inside. There, in dirty clothes was Yuugi. Atemu crawled in and picked the sleeping kindergartner in his arms. He cradled him in his chest while a few tears rolled down his face. Yuugi was safe. Atemu laid Yuugi back down as carefully as he could without waking the youngster up.

"I'll be right back." And he kissed Yuugi on the forehead. Atemu exited the tent and started to unpack his own things. He turned to Mai. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Mai sat down on one of the logs and proceeded to watch Atemu make his bed.

"I'm serious. I'm in your debt. I'll repay you some way." Atemu replied without a glance in her direction. Tiredness had swept over the teen and he felt exhausted. Mentally and physically he was worn out. Once the air mattress was blown and dressed, Atemu grabbed a pair of pants and went into the bushes. He remerged wearing nothing but black sleep pants.

The clothes he had been wearing earlier were stuffed into his backpack. He then went back inside the tent and brought out Yuugi and changed him into his pajamas. After he tucked Yuugi in, he went over to the fire and sat down.

"Thank you Mai." Atemu said once again. "You're more of a friend to me than the ones that came with me."

"How did you get separated from Yuugi?"

"Jou had some stupid idea that he should take Yuugi so that I could sleep. And when I found them, Yuugi wasn't with them. Thank you."

"My pleasure, honey. The little guy kept asking about you and crying over you. You're some big brother."

Atemu smiled. Yuugi was safe.

"Well I'm going to go get some beauty sleep. Tomorrow is the last day to qualify for the finals. Goodnight." Mai stood up and stretched before heading into the tent.

Atemu stared at the fire for a couple more minutes before extinguishing it with dirt. Climbing onto the mattress, Atemu stared at the night sky. He began to ponder on the events earlier.

This Bakura, what did he mean by sending his soul to the shadow realm. And why had he called him Pharaoh? And how in the world had he gotten detached from his body? That feeling of dread was back. Something wasn't right.

Atemu turned his head to stare at Yuugi. Yuugi was safe. That's all that mattered right now. Not whispers, not souls, and definitely not his friends. Yuugi was safe. Atemu closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**Review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**This is the unedited version for WW. My beta hasnt sent me the edited piece and since it has been three weeks, Im posting it. There will be mistakes becuase I am not perfect. I will replace this chapter with the editted one when I recieve it. Again, this chapter is not editted!**

**There is two things I want to share with you guys and one of them will change your views on Yugi Motou. First, there is a fourth series coming out for YGO. Second Yugi Motou is short becuase he's diabetiec. Kazuki Takahashi said so in one of his interviews. **

**I hope you like the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: still not mine.**

* * *

Morning came too soon for the kindergartner. Surprisingly he slept well without Atemu by his side. Yuugi sighed mentally at being reminded that he was separated from his kin. He snuggled closer to the being that was holding him.

What would today bring? Would he find Atemu or would he wander aimlessly around the forest with Mai. Yuugi felt like a burden to everyone but his brother. Jou, Anzu, and Honda had no qualms about expressing their feelings to the kindergartner; as for Mai, would she get tired him as fast as Atemu's friends did? Yuugi didn't know. Why did fate give him this hand? Was it this cruel to all five year olds in the world? A few tears slipped down Yuugi's cheeks and the kindergartner put his thumb in his mouth.

What in the world was he sleeping on anyway? It felt like the air mattress Atemu brought and the body his head was resting on had similarities to Atemu. It was his imagination. It had concocted sensory images in order for Yuugi to feel better. Maybe that was why he slept well.

Yuugi saw a hand reach over and pluck his thumb from his mouth. His eyes traveled up and stayed there. If he wasn't imagining things than the person beside him was his brother. Yuugi was laying on Atemu! Atemu had found him sometime in the night! Atemu was still asleep, or that was the impression he was giving with his eyes closed. A smile formed on the small one's face as he kept gazing at his older brother. He was afraid if he looked away Atemu would disappear and turn into another person.

Yuugi caught sight of the bruises on his brother's chest and mentally cringed. There were so many! Yellow, blue, black, brown were only few of the colors Yuugi recognized but they littered every part of his chest. Not wanting to look at them, Yuugi laid his back on Atemu's torso, trying to evade the bruises.

Atemu had found him! Feelings of happiness bubbled within the youngster.

* * *

Morning. Just one word could bring endless possibilities. It could mean new beginnings to some; while to others it means the end of an adventure, a life. To Atemu it brought a new definition of pain. He was so sick of it. The pain. Where did it start? Where did it end? Maybe there were some pills left in his bag.

Atemu wanted so sleep and never wake up. Well not for that long, but long enough where he didn't wake up to a body that wanted to kill him. Except Yuugi was awake and Atemu had responsibilities. Groggily, Atemu forced his eyes open and was blinded by the sun. His left arm shot up in front of his face in order to block the sun out. After a few seconds his eyes adjusted and he was presented a clear view of the morning air.

The teen felt Yuugi sit up and Atemu did the same thing, rubbing his eyes in the process. Looking around, the teen noticed that Mai's tent was gone but a note and two granola bars sat on the logs by the nonexistent fire.

"Yami?" the timid voice escaped the youngster. Atemu looked down at Yuugi and met his big amethyst eyes.

"Yes Aibou?"

"I missed you!" And Yuugi flung himself into his brother's arms. Atemu winced a little but returned the embrace with wholeheartedness. This was his brother, his life.

"You know I'll never abandon you; not for anybody or anything"

"I was scawed you did" Atemu pulled Yuugi back and looked him in the eye.

"Yuugi, you are my life, leaving you behind would mean my destruction. I could never live with myself if I abandoned you for my own self-gain. It might take me a while to get back to you but I'll always be back for you; only for you."

At his words, Yuugi started to cry. Never again would he doubt his brother. He flung himself back into Atemu's arms and cried softly.

"I'll never leave you. Okay?"

"Otay."

The two brothers stayed liked that. Atemu waited till Yuugi calmed down and took the time to calm himself down. The very talk of _not _abandoning Yuugi brought his heart rate up. It was too horrible to even think about; let alone plan for it. It felt so wrong signing the document that Kaiba had presented him. It was repulsing but he did it anyway.

"Alright Yuugi, we better get a move on it. Todays the last day to qualify for the finals and I need four more star chips, so let's get you cleaned up an we can be on our way." At the words 'cleaned up', Yuugi escaped from Atemu's grasp and stumbled off the air mattress. The youngster stood up and crossed his arms.

"NO bath." Atemu had to chuckle at the emphasis on no.

"Sorry buddy, but your filthy and filthy is unhealthy. There's water nearby. Think of it as a trip to the pool." When Yuugi heard pool, he raised his arms and a smile erupted on his face. He loved pools.

"Come on, I wan to swim!" Yuugi climbed back onto the mattress and grabbed Atemu's arm and began to drag him off the bad.

"Aibou!" Atemu laughed.

"Come on!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Sheesh hold your horses."

"Howses? Were!" Yuugi started to look frantically around in order to spot the big beasts.

"Aibou" Atemu groaned playfully, "It's a saying. There's no horses here."

"Oh… Pool!" Atemu laughed. Yuugi was being a child and that's what he needed to be. Not worry if he was going to be abandoned or not.

"Come on then" The teen hopped off the mattress and walked over to his backpack. First thing he did was take two ibuprofen pills. Then he took two towels and a bar of soap. Atemu pointed the direction of the water and Yuugi was off in a heartbeat.

"Yuugi slow down!" Atemu broke into a jog in order not to lose sight of his brother. He didn't need an episode of yesterday. He found Yuugi standing in front of a small lake.

"This not a pool." Yuugi said absentmindedly.

"No but's a lake." The elder stripped both of them of their clothes until they were standing in their boxers. He then grabbed Yuugi, hoisted him over his shoulder, and ran into the lake; with Yuugi screaming in laughter. After reaching a decent level he plunged Yuugi and himself into the water. Both brothers came up laughing.

* * *

It was about half an hour before the boys exited the lake to dry off. Yuugi walked up to Atemu while holding his arms close to his body.

"Aibou" Atemu knelt down and wrapped a towel around the younger boy. With the second towel, the teen wrapped it around his waist. He then picked Yuugi up and walked over to the campsite; setting the youngster on the air mattress.

Atemu rubbed Yuugi dry and toweled his hair. He then handed the youngster a dry, clean pair of underwear, a long blue sleeved shirt with the sleeves white and navy jeans.

"Here get dressed." Yuugi nodded his head and took the clothes. Atemu started to dry himself off. Pulling out black jeans and black shirt, the teen dressed himself quickly before putting socks and shoes on. He turned to Yuugi who was just wearing jeans.

"Aibou where's your shirt?"

"No shirth. I'm justh like you!" Yuugi giggled. Atemu laughed.

"No, you can be like me at home; here you have to wear clothes."

Yuugi pouted before grabbing his shirt and putting it on. He then accepted breakfast from his brother and plopped down on log and watched as Atemu put away all their things in the backpack. After everything was packed away, the teen went and picked up the granola bars and the note.

_I'll see you at the finals._

"Alright, done?" Yuugi nodded his head, "Then let's go and find me a challenger!" Yuugi jumped up and ran ahead of his brother to scout the area for any potential opponents.

The late morning air was nice; warm with a hint of a cold bite. A nice breeze accompanied the air and Atemu was relieved to find there were no voices accompanying it. Perhaps everything that happened yesterday was a hallucination. Nah, it was too dark and weird for his mind to think of something like that.

The morning walk reminded Atemu of the one he embarked when he got off the ship but this time he was able to relax and enjoy the scenery. And relax he did. Atemu walked at a leisurely pace while his eyes stayed on his brother. There was no urgency in his step, his face empty of all emotion. The moment was perfect. That was, until they stumbled upon a dueling field with three girls.

"Aww, he's so cute!" exclaimed one of the girls as she picked Yuugi up. Yuugi's face scrunched up and he tried to wiggle out of the girls grasp.

"Yami!" Yuugi whined. Atemu laughed at his brothers attempt to escape the three females who were fawning over the youngster. The girl who was holding Yuugi had blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She wore a pink blouse with two of the buttons unbuttoned at the top and jean shorts. The girl on her right had short red hair with yellow dress on. The girl on the right had brown hair that was loose around her face. A regular tee with blue jeans was her attire. All three of them wore regular tennis shoes.

"Isn't he just adorable!" squealed the girl with red hair. She tickled Yuugi on the nose while he tried to evade her hands.

"I want to take him home!" exclaimed the brunette while running her fingers through his hair. Atemu lazily walked up to the trio who held his brother with an amused expression on his face and his hands in his pockets. These three girls were harmless and were just out to have a little fun; and they were cute too!

"You sure you want him? He hates being clean." Atemu smiled at them.

"Look! An older version! He's cute too!" the red head stated with stars in her eyes.

"I want to take both of them home!" the brunette followed with her eyes closed while nuzzling her own hands and nodding her head.

"Yami hewp!" Yuugi once more tried to get out of there grasps.

"He talks!" the blonde latched even tighter onto Yuugi. Atemu laughed again. The moment was priceless. The blonde then put down the youngster and stood up tall. Yuugi quickly made his escape by running behind Atemu and grabbing onto his pant leg as if it was his life support.

"My name is Atemu Motou! It's a pleasure to meet you." Atemu walked up to them, bowed, and kissed each of their hands. The three girls blushed.

"A gentleman" the brunette was still dreaming.

"My name is Christy" the blonde one replied.

"I'm Mandy" the red head followed.

"I'm Suzy" the brunette said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" All three girls replied at the same time.

"And this shy guy is my little brother, Yuugi." Atemu pointed to the little body that was peeking out from behind him. Yuugi quickly hid his face.

"He's just adorable!" Mandy appeared behind Atemu and started to cuddle with the child. Yuugi blushed and tried to get out of her grasp.

"Aibou tell them hi." Yuugi gave his brother the 'do I have to' look. Seeing that he did Yuugi shyly voiced his greeting.

"Hi"

"He talked again!" Suzy rushed up to him and grabbed him arm. Suzy and Mandy started a tug of war with Yuugi. Yuugi looked so helpless. Both girls then looked at each other and sandwiched the kindergartner between them as they hugged the youngster. Yuugi sent another 'help me' look to Atemu.

"So you're the elusive Atemu Motou" Christy stated then raised her right hand. "Want to duel?"

"That's what I was looking to do. I wager four star chips."

"Done" Atemu then turned to the two girls who were suffocating his brother.

"Would you ladies mind looking after him while I duel Christy?"

"We thought you would never ask!" Mandy jumped up and latched herself onto Atemu right arm.

"We won't let him out of our sight!" Suzy latched onto his left arm. Atemu chuckled to himself. Yuugi looked lost. The two girls kept spitting out gibberish and he didn't know what they were saying.

"Suzy! Little Yuugi looks sad!" Mandy and Suzy quickly unlatched themselves from Atemu and ran over to the youngster to make him 'not sad'.

"Don't be sad Little Yuugi! You're big brother will come back to as soon as Christy beats him."

"Hey!"

Mandy gave Atemu a sheepish smile.

"Are you going to duel or are you going to play babysitter to the babysitters?" Christy asked from her side of the platform. Atemu quickly jogged over to his platform and got into position.

"Eager to lose?" Atemu sent a teasing smile as he shuffled his deck and drew five cards.

"Oh not all cuteness" Christy said while doing the same thing.

"Ladies first" Atemu waived his hand toward the blonde on the other side of him.

"I like you." Christy drew her card, "I place a card in defense mode and set two cards down. Your turn"

**Atemu: 2000**

**Christy: 2000**

"Hmm" Atemu drew and stared at his hand. He had Kings Knight, Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, Negate Attack, Berfolment, A thousand knives, and Dark Magician Girl. So far this was a good hand. He looked up at the field and frowned at the two face down cards. Was it worth to attack? Well he was going to find out.

"I play Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight (2300/2100) in attack mode." A knight on a purple horse appeared. The horse reared in anticipation for its command. "Gaia attack!"

"Tsk. Tsk. Sorry cuteness, I'm not that easy. Activate Trap. Spellbind Circle." Christy exclaimed and raised her trap. Gaia galloped towards the defense monster but before it could launch its attack a yellow circle encircled; stopping it dead in its tracks. Gaia reared in protest but the circle remained.

"Now your horsey is trapped and cannot attack." Christy giggled.

"Good move. I place one card down and end my turn." Atemu smirked. "Two can play that game, oh beautiful one."

"Did you hear that Mandy! He called me beautiful. EEEE" Christy jumped up and down.

"Well we got his brother so there!" she replied and cuddled with Yuugi. The youngster was getting over his shyness and blushed.

**Atemu: 2000**

**Christy: 2000**

"My move" Christy regained composure and studied her cards. A smile played on her lips. "I play Silent Magician LV4 (1000/1000) in Attack mode. Then I play the card I just drew Hand Destruction, forcing us to send two cards from our hands to the graveyard and then draw two new cards."

Atemu looked at his hand and discarded Berfolment and A thousand knives. He then drew Pot of Greed and Crystal Seal.

"Because you drew two cards, my Silent Magician gains 500 attack/defense points for every card. Silent is at 2000/2000. Yay! I'm so smart!"

"Cheer all you want, it's not enough to destroy my knight."

"Oh drats, I'll just wait till you draw again. But for now I'll activate Gravekeepers Servant. It forces you to discard one card from the top of your deck if you want to attack. And now I'll flip my Fortune Lady Water (?/?) to attack. Her attack and defense is 300 times her level. And she gains an additional 300 on each of my standby phases. So if I did my math correct she has 1200 attack and defense points. I end my turn" Christy folded her arms and stared at her opponent.

**Atemu: 2000**

**Christy: 2000**

"I knew girls took a long time to get ready. I didn't know they took longer to make their moves." Atemu teased and drew a card; Brain Control.

"Because you drew a card my Magician gains an additional 500 points. He's at 2500/2500. Yippee!"

"I wouldn't be cheering just yet. I activate Pot of Greed which lets me draw two cards." Atemu added Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Magicians Unite.

"Weren't you listening? My magician gains an extra 500 points for every card you draw. So he's at 3500/3500 now. Don't tell me all that hair is suffocating your brain." Christy replied dully. She then brought her energy up. "Because it would be a shame to cut it off. Your hair makes you hot!"

"Haha, then wait till you see what I have in store for you. I sacrifice 800 of my life points in order to play Brain Control." Atemu placed the card on the field and a brain with two hands materialized. Christy's mouth dropped.

**Atemu: 1200**

**Christy: 2000**

"No..You can't" Christy stuttered.

"You know what happens next beautiful. I take control of your Silent Magician LV4." The two hands from the brain extended and grabbed a struggling Silent Magician and brought it over to Atemu's side. "I discard Dark Magic Curtain in order to attack your Fortune Lady Dark with your own monster. Silent Magician attack!"

**Atemu: 1200**

**Christy: 0000**

"But..but.." The blonde looked dumbfounded and then "I dueled Atemu Motou!"

"Good duel." Atemu said while his platform lowered. He walked over to the two girls and Yuugi. Christy jogged over to him. Atemu offered his hand but Christy launched herself at him and hugged him. Atemu caught her just in time. She then let him go and presented him with four star chips.

"You won them fair and square" Atemu accepted the star chips and inserted them into his gauntlet. He had ten now. Enough to get into the Finals. "Boy will people be jealous when they hear I dueled you!"

"But you lost" Atemu stated.

"I don't care! I met you and your adorable little brother." Christy stole the kindergartner from Suzy's arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Yuugi blushed even more. He sat there quietly in the arms. Atemu could tell he was getting hungry. It was noon after all.

"Well I have one star chip left. I better go find someone to duel if I want to qualify for the finals."

"But then we'd have to leave Yuugi behind!" Mandy exclaimed and grabbed Yuugi from Christy. "And he's too adorable to leave behind."

"I want to hold him before he leaves!" Suzy then snatched the youngster from Mandy.

"Ladies he's not a toy." Atemu warned them. Recognizing the warning Suzy kissed Yuugi on the cheek and set him down. Yuugi then waddled over to Atemu and held his arms out. Atemu picked him up and placed him on his hip. The kindergartner laid his head on the nape of his brother's neck.

"Sorry, we get a little feisty sometimes." Mandy apologized for herself and her two friends.

"No harm is done, don't worry about it."

"Well we better get going. It was nice meeting you and Yuugi." Replied Christy. "We would stay but seeing as this is the last day, I better get my duel on."

"Hopefully we'll meet again"

"Maybe someday." All three girls walked over and kissed the brothers on the cheeks and the three girls departed. Atemu knew he was never going to see them again. It had the aura around them. But he knew he would have three friends somewhere in the world.

"What did you think of them Yuugi?" Atemu smiled at his brother.

"They were cwazy" Yuugi mumbled. Atemu laughed.

"Ya, girls can get a little crazy. Hungry?" Yuugi nodded. "Alright let's see what I have."

The teen set Yuugi down and took his backpack off. He pulled out a package of beef jerky, two apples, two granola bars, crackers, water and a juice box. Yuugi quickly grabbed the jerky and stuffed a piece in his mouth. Atemu grabbed a granola bar and watched an amusement as his brother fed himself.

* * *

After the brothers finished their lunch, Atemu decided they better go to the castle. It was quite a long walk from where they were and they still had to climb those stairs. What in the world was Pegasus thinking when he built those stairs?

They walked on the path the led them to their destination. Yuugi was walking on his own and he was exploring his surrounding by stopping at every tree and inspecting the life that was going on. While Yuugi explored, Atemu found himself in his own little world. He thought about Yuugi, about the tournament, the whisper and things concerning the whisper. A flash of anger passes his features when he thought of his 'friends'. He hadn't thought of them all day. He couldn't forgive them for what they did. His thoughts were interrupted when Yuugi called him over.

"Yami, come hewe." Atemu made his way to Yuugi and stared at what he was pointing to. It was a praying mantis. "Whaths that?"

"That's a praying mantis. It's an insect." Atemu kneeled down.

"Is ith friendly?"

"It's not poisonous but you shouldn't touch it."

"Hm, a pweying manthis…"

"Come on Aibou, the castle is still a good hour away. I want to get there before night fall."

Suddenly a shriek resounded in the air. Atemu froze and went on high alert. His hand unconsciously found Yuugi's and gripped it.

Another scream broke the air. This time he recognized it as Mai's. Without thinking Atemu grabbed Yuugi, sprung up, and sprinted the direction of the scream before Yuugi could take a deep breath.

* * *

**Thoughts? Were nearing the climax of the story! And if you want to read the editted version of this chapter, tell me so I can notify you when I replace it.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**Review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**So...I lost my beta due to life. And now I'm in search for a new one. Anyone intrested in betaing for me? I don't bite, I promise!**

**This chapter is the turning point in our story. The climax to say.**

**Since I don't have a beta, this chapter is full of grammar mistakes. If you see any, please let me know.**

**Warning: Language and Angst ahead. Proceed at your own risk!**

**Disclaimer: I hugged Seto Kaiba in my dream last night! And Yami was a hit man who killed a police officer and two by-standers. And Atem was helping the law track down his own son. While Yugi had no idea what was going on. Seto Kaiba hugged back! I felt short next to him. So I don't own YGO but the crew visits me in my dreams! It was quite a good dream, I'm thinking about writing either a one shot or a short story about it.**

* * *

"Yami?" Yuugi whispered into Atemu's ear in confusion. Atemu ignored him and ran a little bit faster. Soon enough he stopped in another meadow with a dueling arena in the middle.

"Mai!" Atemu yelled when he saw the female duelist standing defeated on the dueling platform. Her eyes were glazed over and she didn't move a muscle. Her hands were limp by her sides and she stared at the floor.

"Mai!"

Still there was no response from the blonde. The platform lowered the female and Atemu ran up to her.

"Mai are you okay?" No response. Atemu took a step closer and was about to reach out to her when she turned towards him. Atemu took a step back and instinctively his grip on Yuugi tightened. Mai's eyes were empty. It was as if she was empty inside; a shell.

Without a word, Mai stepped down the platform and began walking to the opposite side of the field. Quickly Atemu looked for her opponent. They were gone.

"Mai?" Atemu didn't know what was going on and his gut feeling was telling him it wasn't good. The blonde turned around and her gaze pierced through Atemu.

"Atemu Motou. The Pharaoh will rise again." The voice that escaped her lips was not hers. It was warped to a lower degree making it sound gruffer and raspier. Atemu's eyes narrowed and he set Yuugi on his feet; grabbing his hand in the process. Not a moment too soon, Yuugi's hand was ripped from Atemu's.

"Yamiii!"

The motion was so sudden that Atemu didn't have a chance to let go and he was sent to the ground.

"Aibou!"

How could he be so stupid!

A man, about late forties, was dragging Yuugi off. He wore a suit with sunglasses on.

"Yammii!" Yuugi was hysterical, he was kicking and screaming, trying to make the man let go of him. But the kindergartner's strength was no match for the man. "Yammii!"

"Aibou!" Atemu tried to scramble up but someone pushed him back onto the ground.

No this couldn't be happening. He just got Yuugi back; he wasn't going to lose him again!

Someone grabbed his ankles and started to drag him the opposite direction. Atemu dug his fingernails into the dirt in attempt to stay stationary. It did nothing but create clouds of dust and trails in the ground.

"Let him go! Yuugi!" Atemu watched as Yuugi thrashed and screamed with tears running down his face. He wasn't going to lose Yuugi. He couldn't. Atemu flipped on to his back and kicked the man in the shins. The man was temporarily stunned and Atemu took the advantage to jump to his feet and hit the guy square in jaw. The guy retaliated quickly and kneed Atemu in the stomach. The teen lost wind and felt his lungs burn at being deprived. It seemed they hadn't recovered from his drowning.

Another man with black hair appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Atemu by his injured arm. Letting out a painful yelp, Atemu swung around aiming his kick at the man's side, and missed.

"You got to get them where it counts." The stranger retorted and tripped the teen. Atemu landed with a heavy thud on the ground. His back protested; paralyzing him for a few moments.

"It leaves them defenseless." The man stomped down on Atemu's right leg. Jolts of pain ran through his leg. He sat up and grabbed it as if it was supposed to stop. Atemu moaned in pain.

"Yammii!" The screech was high pitched and it sent Atemu wild. No one made Yuugi suffer. Putting his pain aside, Atemu stood up on one leg and began to hop towards Yuugi but tripped and fell after a few feet.

"Yuugi…" Atemu hoarsely responded. They kicked him in the abdomen. Yuugi shrieked again. Atemu ignored the pain and began to crawl. "No…"

There was yelling in his head. Someone was yelling at him. Atemu didn't care.

"Help me…" Atemu told the whisper. His vision was going blurry, "Please…"

"Pathetic" a voice from behind retorted. Atemu tried to push himself up; only to crash down to the ground.

"Whisper… Please…"

From behind him, the man came up and kicked the teen in the head. His body slumped to the ground, lifeless. Atemu spiraled into darkness with Yuugi's scream and the whispers frantic yelling echoing in his ears.

* * *

There was a buzzing in the distance. This buzzing was not from a bee or a child's imitation of one. Nor was it an engine purring at 80 mph. No it was more like the white noise coming from a television screen.

This buzzing soon started to transform into distinguishable sounds; just like a television would if you adjusted the antennas.

But why was there buzzing? Even if there was a purpose, its meaning would be undecipherable. And where was it coming from? Nothing but darkness for the eye to see; expanding multiple directions. Left, right, up, down, north, south, east, west.

The buzzing became louder and a spot of white shone through the darkness. It became brighter and Atemu was flushed through the recess of his mind; into reality.

* * *

Jou stared at his best friend. The glow from the fireplace illuminated his facial features. Dark bluish circles were around his closed eyes. His skin had taken an unnatural shade of white. Deep, slow breath's was the only sign of movement from the teen.

It had been four hours since they found Atemu. Four excruciating hours. They had seen the whole scene,

_The tri-colored teen dragged himself through the dirt; eyes trained on the form of his little brother. He was talking to himself, lips parting slowly, emmiting sounds too low for Jou to hear._

"_Hang on Atemu! We're coming!" Jou yelled._

Who was Atemu talking to? What was he saying? Jou buried his chin in his knees and stared at the still moving body.

_He couldn't run fast enough. Jou pushed his legs forward and ignored his burning muscles. He wasn't going to let down his best friend again. This was his chance at his redemption. If he got Yuugi and Atemu out of harm's way, the teen would forgive him and life would go on. But it seemed faith had other plans. Jou's eyes widened when he saw that foot swing and make contact with Atemu's head. A sickening crack could be heard._

That crack still echoed in Jou's ears. Silent tears ran down his face at the repulsive sound. He would rather burn in hell then remember that crack.

"_NOO!" Jou attempted to run faster but he had reached his limit. Atemu fell lifelessly onto the ground. Blood oozed from his head, ran down his cheek, and pooled below his face. Jou saw Yuugi stare helpless at Atemu before screaming bloody murder. That scream nearly exploded his ear drums. It was filled with such anguish that Jou was almost convinced it was him who screamed. _

And those…those men just walked away. They walked away without a second glance. They were laughing too. How could they laugh? Didn't they know they tore two brothers apart?

_Jou kneeled down in front of his unconscious friend. He slowly turned the teen over. So much blood. Was there supposed to be that much blood? His head wound was still gushing that red liquid. Anzu quickly got a towel from Atemu's backpack and started to apply pressure to the head wound. Tears were in her eyes._

Atemu was losing. One glance at his battered body said so. The big question now was would he survive this tournament?

* * *

It was as if someone took a hammer and slammed it into Atemu's cranium. The pounding wasn't even dull; it was sharp pain that ran back and forth between the sides of his head. The trail the pain took burned its path and Atemu felt like there was a war in his head.

It wasn't just his head that pained him. There was also his body; and his pride. He had let them get away with Yugi. The one thing he had promised himself wouldn't happen, happened. He had failed his brother. Could Yuugi forgive him?

Atemu fought the haze in his mind and forced himself to wake up. Things wouldn't get done if he just laid there feeling sorry for himself. As the fog lifted, he recognized voices around him. Atemu finally opened his eyes.

It was evening. The sun had disappeared but its rays still littered the sky. Atemu groaned and tried to sit up.

"Atemu, stay down. You were hit pretty hard." Jou tried to push his best friend down but Atemu swatted his hand away. The teen turned over on his stomach and used his legs and hands to push himself up. He groaned as his body protested to his commands. His head lulled forward when sharp pain hit his head like train. Once he was sitting up, the teen brought a hand to his head. He felt something wet and sticky. Blood. This was no good. If he was bleeding from his head, then some serious damage had happened. Atemu leaned forward and vomited.

"Atemu don't push yourself!" Anzu exclaimed when Atemu started to stand up.

"Look, I don't care what happens to me. They took Yugi and I can't just sit here while someone is holding him hostage."

"And how are you going to help him when you can barely stand!" Jou yelled when Atemu fell down on his butt.

"I don't need your help."

"Like hell you do! You're a mess! You've been a mess ever since we got on this goddamn island!

"Oh jeez, I haven't noticed."

"Were your friends, Atemu. Whether you like it or not. You'll stay here with Anzu while Honda and I go get Yuugi."

"NO! He's my brother thus my responsibility. I will go get him. You guys are my friends? Hmph"

Jou marched over to Atemu, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him into a tree. Atemu's eyes rolled back into his head and a loud grunt escaped his lips.

"WE are your friends! That was ONE mistake. Friends MAKE mistakes. We want to help and make up for what we did! Why can't you see that? If you take anymore abuse of any kind, your body is going to give and you'll die! You can't see what kind of toll all of this is having on you but we can and were not going to let our friend let himself be beat to death!"

There was silence around the group of friends. Anzu was looking away with tears running down her face. Honda walked over to Jou and tried to get him to release his grip on the battered teen.

"Come on Jou, let him go. This isn't helping."

Jou and Atemu stared at each other. Both males burned holes into each other's sockets. Slowly Jou let go of Atemu and the teen slid down the trunk. He then pulled himself up right and turned his back to the trio.

"Atemu…" Honda started.

"I _will_ get my brother. Without your guy's help. So thanks for nothing." Atemu started walking away.

"Don't do this man" Jou yelled. Atemu ignored him and kept on walking. "Fine! But don't come crying to us when you end up dead!"

"Wasn't planning on it!"

"Bastard!" Jou punched a nearby tree as he watching the retreating form of his best friend.

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Atemu limped on. He felt like he was going to pass out any minute. Night time had fallen fast and again the night time wonders began to exhibit themselves. Atemu didn't pay attention. He focused on putting one foot in front of the other; without falling down.

"You there whisper?" Atemu asked out loud. Surprisingly the whisper answered but as always the language was unrecognizable. In his musing about the language barrier, the teen forgot to pick up his foot and ended up tripping over himself. His hands shot out in front of him and he caught a nearby branch. After straightening himself out he began to walk forward.

"Will you help me?" Another undecipherable reply.

"I wonder how you got into my head." Atemu paused, "I don't know if I'm happy you're in there or mad."

"I might sound crazy but I think I like you in there. You've kept me company on this journey. And saved my butt."

"You probably don't understand what I'm saying but you're my last hope. You helped me that one time. Will you help me again? I love my little brother. He's my world…my everything. If anything ever happened to him…"

Atemu had to pause. A few tears ran down his face. He didn't bother to wipe them away.

"I wonder if you had a life at one point. And if you did, what was it like?"

The castle stairs were seen through the tops of the trees. His steps were becoming slower and heavier. The teen looked at the sky and the many stars that littered it.

"I want this whole tournament to be over. I want to be home. I want Yuugi to be driving me crazy."

The whisper was silent but Atemu knew he was listening.

"You probably don't understand me. Ha… I must be really messed up the head. I'm talking to myself."

Atemu was losing it. The tears increased in volume and speed. His chest constricted and he felt like he was choking on his lungs.

"What am I doing? I can barely stand up straight let alone walk. How am I going to get Yuugi back? Why would Yuugi want me? I failed him. I myself am a failure."

The stairs were finally in front of him but instead of climbing then, the teen walked over to the tree and slid down. Torn sobs escaped his mouth and wracked his body.

The air was silent and the only thing that witnessed Atemu's break down. Trees slowly swayed in the wind in order to match the agony in the air. Even wildlife around the teen had stilled in order to understand what was going on.

The puzzle flashed briefly and Atemu vaguely felt being detached from his body. He didn't even feel that his body was getting up and he was staying down. When his sobs subsided and he was greeted no pain Atemu looked up in surprised.

In front of him stood his body; no it wasn't his body, it was the whisper. Strange crimson eyes stared at the teen in sympathy and sadness. He extended his hand toward to Atemu.

Atemu stared at his outstretched hand. Should he take it? After all the whisper had been nothing but nice to him, why would he want to screw him over now? It just didn't make sense. The teen looked at his knees in contemplating his next move.

Yuugi. Didn't Atemu ask the whisper to help in rescuing his brother? Indeed he did. If he denied the outstretched hand then he would be denying help. A small smile appeared on the teen's face.

What was pain anyway? This… physical pain would go away soon. Soon he would be back in Domino City with everybody with things the way they should be. Pain. It divided the weak from the strong. Pain was his enemy. It held him back from getting to Yuugi; but that was the last time it did it. Pain; he would defeat this enemy.

This physical pain would not even compare to the emotional pain if he lost Yuugi. Now _that_ pain would kill him. It would tear his heart out of his chest and use it as a rag. _That_ pain would leave him without a will to live. It would destroy him with vengeance. _That_ pain would tear at his mind, slowly driving him insane. He would be driven to find relief in a form of a sharp kitchen tool. Parallel scars would appear on his wrist. And when that method stopped working, alcohol and drugs would become the next best solution. It would become his life until one day he would accidently OD. The housekeeper would find his body a couple of days later. That body would burn in the hospitals incinerator when nobody would claim him. His ashes would mix with others and he would forever be wiped out of history. _That_ pain would defeat him…

No, he couldn't let that happen. It wouldn't happen.

Silently the teen's arm reached towards the whispers.

He forgave them. His friends. They did mean the best, even if they didn't know what they were doing. Especially Jou; Jou was always looking out for him. He was a true friend. And Anzu and Honda would always stand behind him.

Atemu locked eyes with the person in front of him. This voice in his head would help him the most; after all if it lived in his head than it knew Atemu inside and out. He wasn't giving up on the teen. That was enough for Atemu to reach forward.

Atemu grasped onto the outreached hand. The whisper smiled and nodded his head. Atemu returned the nod and he was once again in control of his body. This time nothing would stop him.

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**Chapter twelve is being written as we speak. In the end, this story will have 14-16 chapters. How do you think this story will end? I'm curious, don't be shy.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**Review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**For those who have read my profile then you know why this update is late. For those who haven't then I shall tell you. In the beggining of March my horse tore his lower jaw. As in the only thing that kept his jaw on his head were his lips. But he is fine now! You cant see bone anymore and the gaps in his gums grew back together. And then there was homework, college, helping out at rodeo's and normal life stuff. But the main reason why I couldnt update was because of my horse. So no worries, I havent forgotten about my stories.**

**This chapter has to be the worst one I have ever written. So you have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I have a vet bill that I need to pay off. **

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Atemu walked through the eerie lit halls of the castle. Even though there was an abundance of light, something felt off. Where were the other finalists? He couldn't have been the only one to win ten star chips. The teen didn't care about the tournament anymore. He needed to find Yuugi and then he would try to find Mokuba.

The teen touched the side of his head, only to wince when his fingers encountered his open wound. The bleeding had stopped but the constant tampering Atemu was doing had reopened the wound and now it slowly trickled the crimson liquid.

All the doors he had opened came up empty. He guessed the castle was too big for even Pegasus to decorate. But still, it seemed the hall went on forever. Where was the break? There had to be something more than bright light and endless doors. Atemu wasn't even sure if Yuugi was in the castle. The men who took him left no note or evidence of their desired destination. It was more of a hunch that he would find his brother in the castle.

"He's somewhere in here." Atemu mumbled to himself as a way to reassure himself that he was on the right path. He touched the side of his head again; only to wince once more. The hall kept going. Duplicate doors were the only thing in site. If the teen felt better, he would have sprinted as fast as he could to leave the mockery behind him. But even if he did, Atemu had a feeling he wouldn't escape this metamorphic prison. It was as if he was in an illusion. Like he was on a treadmill, with the wallpaper moving by.

Fifteen minutes later, he was still walking in the endless hallway. Atemu stopped in frustration and stared ahead of him. Then he turned around and looked what was behind him. Both ends fizzled out to a dark cloud. The teen contemplated the situation. A few more moments later he gritted his teeth. He was stuck in an illusion. Both hands balled into fists while he contemplated a way out.

Maybe he was still dreaming; still lying unconscious at his friend's campout. Or maybe this whole adventure was a dream. Seriously, voices in his head? Bad luck? And the most strange situations? It would explain everything.

There could be the possibility that he never woke up from his car accident. His body might be occupying a bed at Domino Hospital while his mind took him on an adventure. He bet that his brain activity was off the charts. But it still wouldn't explain half the stuff that happened.

No everything was real. Atemu knew that but still had a sliver of hope that he was dreaming. Loud cackling interrupted Atemu out of his musings.

"Took you long enough to figure it out" a voice out of nowhere spoke. Atemu spun a couple of times in attempt to pinpoint the voice. He then noticed that the illusion was shifting. The walls started swirling and lights dimmed. Atemu heart lurched in his chest. What was going on?

Suddenly the floor he was standing on was not a carpet, instead it seemed like he was floating in midair. This new illusion was in a form of a sphere. Mouth and eyes appeared on the walls along with dark colors in obtuse patterns. Chills ran down the teen's spine. The situation was not good. A familiar mane of white hair materialized in the sphere.

It was the same male from the forest. Atemu tried to remember his name, it started with a B but what was it? Bakuman? Buku? Bakuren? …Bakura!

The need to run became overwhelming. Any strength that Atemu possessed was all figurative speaking. And the power of the puzzle was still a foreign language to him. He had seen the whisper use the power but it didn't mean he saw how it was done. Panic began to bubble up in Atemu's throat.

Atemu tried to turn around and escape this illusion but the second he moved his feet, shadows latched on to his feet and kept him from escaping.

"Is this any way to treat an old friend Atemu?" Bakura asked.

"Last time I checked you tried to kill me"

"Well what did you expect? I've planned your demise for over 3000 years. I guess you could say I got a little impatient."

"Look, like I told you before I have no idea what you're talking about. Can't you people leave me?" Frustration set in. These people were mistaking him for someone else. He did not know a person named 'Pharaoh' nor did he want to. Whoever this person was kept bringing unnecessary trouble into Atemu's life. Bakura began to laugh manically.

"No one has told you? And you haven't figured out yourself?" Bakura laughed more, "Well guess what I'm not saying anything. You'll just die ignorant."

"I'm not dying here" Atemu retorted. Bakura ignored his comment and just grinned gleefully. The white haired male spread out his arms and millennium ring shone on his chest,

"I call forth Diabound"

"Wind from nowhere picked up and violently began to storm around the make shift sphere. For some odd reason, probably due to the fatigue he was experiencing, Atemu thought this situation resembled a related rates problem from Calculus. All the variables were present. The sphere, the wind, and the unknown variable. Well, Atemu thought so; he wouldn't be surprised if his thinking was wrong.

A rather loud growl shook Atemu from his thoughts and his eyes met a monster. The upper body of a creature resembled a human with a rather ugly head perched on its shoulders while the lower body was snake tail with another head at the end.

Atemu blinked a couple of times and then groaned when it wasn't a hallucination. He silently began to struggle against the shadowy restraints on his legs. The creatures yellow eyes caught sight of the teen and began to glare at the boy, waiting for his masters instructions to destroy.

"None of your priests will save you this time! Diabound! Attack!"

Atemu's struggles became visible at seeing a yellow orb form in Diabound's hands. Reaching down, the teen began to pull at the shadows but he couldn't grasp onto the tendrils. Diabound released his attack. Atemu's eyes widened before he sent himself to the ground; and dodging the attack. Diabound looked displeased and once again began to collect energy. Atemu started to kick at his feet in order for the shadows to release their grip.

"!" Atemu stuttered as he watched that orb being release and hurled straight at him. "Whisper!"

The orb drew closer and closer and Atemu closed his eyes and readied himself for impact. Any minute now that yellowish sphere was going to connect with him and send him flying. Any minute now. Seconds kept ticking by before Atemu was brave enough to open his eyes. His eyes widened. A steady stream of golden light was coming from the puzzle and shrinking the attacking sphere until it was nothing but dust. The teen looked down at his chest. The puzzle was aglow again.

The tendril on his legs quickly receded and Atemu took the chance to jump up and look at Bakura. Running was not an option, even though everything screamed for Atemu to run. It wasn't that he didn't want to run, there was nowhere _to_ run.

"Summon your ka!" Bakura demanded, with irritation present. Atemu just blinked at him. "Summon your bloody ka! Daibound attack!"

Another yellow orb was hurled at the teen and again Atemu barely managed to dodge it.

"Let me out of here! I have no idea what you're talking about." Atemu shouted.

"Stop playing stupid and send your ka out! Diabound attack and don't miss this time." This time Diabound sent two yellow orbs hurling Atemu's direction. The teen dodged one but the other one hit him in his right leg. Atemu's eyes watered and his eyes were trained on the ceiling. Both hands gripped his thigh and tried to knead the pain out. The pain. It wasn't anything he ever experienced. The puzzle shone again and something materialized in front of him. It was a brown fuzz ball. More importantly, it was a Kuriboh.

Atemu mentally slapped himself. How was a Kuriboh supposed to protect him?

"Real funny whisper" Atemu laughed drunkenly, "Next thing you're going to tell me that his thing is my so called Ka. Haha."

Bakura looked at the brown furball and began to laugh uncontrollably, while pointing at Kuriboh and muttering incoherent phrases. Apparently Kuriboh knew Bakura was making fun of him and began to angrily bounce around. It then closed its eyes and began to multiply rapidly. Bakura stopped laughing when hundreds of Kuribohs appeared out of nowhere.

"What is this? What's your game Pharaoh?"

Atemu just stared at the scene in front of him. Maybe having a Kuriboh wasn't so bad. There was one in his deck.

After there was an adequate number of Kuriboh's, the brown furballs began to glue themselves to Diabound; covering every inch that was visible.

"What are you doing!" Bakura yelled. His hand balled up into a fist. After the monster was fully cloaked in Kuribohs a big explosion rocked the sphere as each and every Kuriboh exploded one after the other. The end result being a very badly burned Diabound but it was still alive. One Kuriboh was present and it returned to its position in front of Atemu.

"That's it no more nice guy! Diabound destroy him!"

Diabound grunted and launched itself onto the teen with the intention of grabbing the boy and crushing him. Atemu saw this and looked horrified as the monster approached closer and closer. Kuriboh launched itself at the monster but Diabound just flicked him away. The whisper was yelling at him again but the teen could not bring himself to move. One of its hands reached out.

A roar sounded as a ball of blue light hit Diabound square on the chest, making the monster fly back and crash into Bakura. A Blue Eyes White Dragon flew from behind Atemu and casually landed in front of Atemu.

"Atemu!"

Atemu turned the direction his voice was being called from. Seto Kaiba came strolling into view with a scowl on his face.

"Kaiba?"

"You damn filthy Priest! How did you get in here! I shall destroy you to!" Bakura got up from the ground and spit some blood out of his mouth. "Diabound get up!"

Diabound weakly got up from the ground and glared at the two teens opposite from him.

"Kaiba what the hell?" Atemu staggered as he stared at his rival, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your butt, that's what. Blue Eyes! Attack with White Lighting!"

The dragon roared and let out a ball of blue light. It collided with Diabound and the monster disintegrated.

"You won't get away this time Thief!" Kaiba brandished a golden looking rod from his coat and aimed it at the white haired male. A golden light shot through the rod and Bakura disintegrated into thin air along with its monster.

Atemu stared at the once occupied spot. Things just kept getting complicated by the second.

"Kaiba?"

"No its Johnny Rogers. Of course it's me!" Kaiba yelled at Atemu. Atemu turned towards the CEO and pointedly stared.

"They took Yuugi." Atemu blurted out after a couple of seconds and turned his gaze to the floor. The surroundings around him had shifted back to Pegasus hall. An irritated look passed across Kaiba's face.

"Come with me" and Kaiba began walking away. Atemu followed as quickly as his body would let him. Kaiba turned around and gave him an annoyed look for his slowness.

"I'm an accident magnet." Atemu replied.

"Hmph."

"Where we going?"

Kaiba didn't answer and Atemu sighed. At least he had found Kaiba. Things should be looking up from now. Atemu could focus solely on Yuugi instead of worrying about Mokuba.

Up ahead Kaiba stopped in front of a door and turned towards Atemu and silently waited for him. Once then teen caught up, Kaiba motioned for Atemu to enter first. Atemu gave him a puzzled look but entered anyway. Maybe Kaiba had rescued Yuugi already and the child was waiting on the other side of the door. His spirits lifted a little.

Too bad he was wrong.

Everything happened so fast Atemu didn't know how it even happened. One minute he was walking through the door, the next his head slammed against a stone slab with Holding Arms on his arms and Holding Legs on his legs. The impact on his head had Atemu's eyes rolling into his skull.

"?" Atemu stuttered not comprehending his situation. The room was dark and his eyes couldn't make out anything. All he knew was that he was strapped to something.

Angered at the situation he was caught on; Atemu banged his against the slab and groaned. Tears tried to leak from his eyes but he blinked them away. This was not happening.

"Kaiba?"

The room brightened considerably and in front of him stood four people.

Pegasus, Kaiba, Marik, and a woman were staring at him with smiles on their faces. The woman was from the museum and she stepped forward and opened her mouth,

"The time has come"

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**What do you think? Can you tell I was doing Calculus homework at one point? Related Rates are not my favorite. Actually between you and me, Calculus can go die.**

**The next chapter all your questions will be answered! **

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**Review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey readers! Im happy to report that my horses jaw has completely healed!**

**So this chapter answeres almost all your questions about this story. I hope you enjoy it because I enjoyed writing it! Though I wish I could have portrayed some scenes better. If you see any mistakes or errors, let me know.**

**Thank you to all my reviewers. You make my day when I see a review.**

**Disclaimer: Still have vet bills to pay off. Maybe in the distant future.**

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There are some situations that are not worth understanding. When these situations arise it's practically useless in attempting to understand the problem.

Atemu stared at the people in front of him. He recognized Marik immediately and remembered that the last time he saw him was when he pulled him from the water. After that he had disappeared. Instead of his usual attire Marik wore no shirt with cargo pants. His gold jewelry was in place.

The person next to him was Pegasus. The tournament holder wore a red suit. At first glance you saw his left eye covered up but on a closer inspection you could see a golden glint. The man had his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

The woman from the museum stood next to Pegasus and wore the same white dress. A millennium necklace was on her neck and it unnerved Atemu. It was as if the eye was watching him. Not only that, the woman kept giving him the expectant look.

And last but not least was Seto Kaiba. The blue-eyed CEO didn't flinch when Atemu steadied his gaze onto him. Kaiba just held a stoned expression, void of any emotion. Atemu silently struggled against his restraints feeling very betrayed. Pieces started to click together and form a picture. The picture was in front of him the whole time.

"Mokuba never got kidnapped…did he?"

Crimson bore into blue.

"No."

Anger. It filled his battered body, ran thick through his veins and took any reason left. Atemu closed his eyes in order to suppress it, and then he remembered he was betrayed. And because of the betrayal Yuugi was who knows where. Eyes snapped open to reveal blood red irises.

So many words threatened to escape Atemu's mouth and the teen gritted his teeth in order to stop himself. The restraints held fast and he wished with all his might that this was not happening. But wishes were after all just wishes. Wishes couldn't find Yuugi. All they did was bring false hope.

As fast as the anger came it dissolved. He was too weak to be angry. His arms were above his head and his shoulder muscles began to ache. The metal on the Holding arms were chafing his wrists.

"Why did you take Yuugi?"

Annoyance briefly flickered through Kaiba's features but it was not directed towards Atemu. The CEO bestowed his annoyance on the man in the red suite. Pegasus rolled his eyes and flicked his white hair.

"It was a precaution" Pegasus casually replied.

"Did I not specify that Yuugi was not to be harmed!"

"Very clearly but we could not risk the chance of Atemu not coming." Annoyance was laced in Pegasus's voice. "Don't worry, he's perfectly fine."

Kaiba gave an agitated sigh and rubbed his temples.

"Did you get the ring?" Marik asked impatiently. Out of the four Marik was the only one not in possession of a millennium item. He did not want to stand by while everyone had fun from the events to come.

"Well did you?"

"Of course I did. We _do_ need all seven items. Where is Shadi? He should know by now that the Pharaoh is in our possession."

As if on cue the room darkened to a deep violet. A cloud appeared in the middle of Atemu and the four people. It was a mix of black and purple. From the top of it something white began to emerge. Soon a tan man stood where the cloud was. He was wearing a white turban with a golden key dangling from his neck. In his hand was a golden scale with an eye on it.

"Nice of you to show up." Kaiba pointedly glared at the man. Atemu assumed this man was the one they were talking about earlier, Shadi. Shadi glanced back at Atemu and studied him quickly. Shadi turned back to the group.

"I am here now that's all that matters." Shadi walked over and joined his peers. Atemu flicked his gaze at the five humans. What right did they have in keeping him prisoner. He didn't break any rules or make anyone upset.

"I demand you to release me and return Yuugi to me." The teen tried to sound intimidating but there's only so much he could do.

"You're in no position to make demands" Marik replied. He reached his hand towards Kaiba. The CEO handed him the millennium ring with a grunt. Marik quickly placed it over his head.

"Do you know why you are here?" Shadi stepped forward and asked. His eyes were black and they unnerved Atemu. When Shadi got no response he continued.

"3000 years ago a prosperous country ruled its land. There was peace among its people and everyone lived happily. The country was Egypt."

Shadi paused and stared at the teen.

"In an attempt to keep the peace, the Pharaoh at the time, Ahknemkhanen, had one of his priests create the seven millennium items. The millennium rod, key, scale, eye, puzzle, ring, and necklace. These items hold great power and were entrusted to the six priests for safekeeping while the Pharaoh received the millennium puzzle."

Atemu's eyes glanced down at his puzzle. He still didn't see how all this related to him. His arms were going numb and he attempted to shift position with no success. Shadi continued,

"A traveler from a distant land caught wind of the items and decided to take over the world. This man was no other than the Thief King Bakura."

Was the Bakura he met one of the same? He also thought that it was ironic that the purpose of the items was to maintain peace but instead it was going to create war.

"At the same time, the current Pharaoh had fallen gravely ill with a slim chance of survival. Before he passed, he entrusted the millennium puzzle and his kingdom to his only child, the prince of Egypt.

The prince readily accepted his new responsibility and took over once his father was laid to rest. The prince became Pharaoh at 18 summers. This was Pharaoh Atemu."

Atemu froze and stared at Shadi with an open mouth. Hundreds of thoughts poured though the teens mind. Was this why everyone was calling him Pharaoh? Absurd. It was just a coincidence that they both had the same name. The pharaoh was dead and the era of pharaohs had passed long ago. Plus there was no possible way he was connected with a dead king. Atemu's eyes fell on the puzzle.

"Soon war ravaged Egypt and Pharaoh Atemu fought full force in attempt to stop it. But the young Pharaoh was naïve and inexperienced. Bakura captured the king and ripped his heart out of his chest and stabbed it. Before anything else could be done, the priests intervened and cast an enchantment."

Atemu recalled the horrible pain he felt in his chest after that one dream he had. The hallway he was in looked like a palace. Did the peircing scream belong to Pharaoh Atemu?

"You see there was so much hope and potential for the Pharaoh. Unknown to the previous pharaoh, the items held a different purpose. The items are the gateway to the Shadow Realm. A place so dark and morbid that only one person is able to access it. Pharaoh Atemu was that person.

Control of the Shadow realm and its creatures insured domination of humankind but the one person who had access to it was now dead. Not wanting to lose the only chance at the great power, the pharaoh's priests tore the soul out of the pharaoh body until his vessel would be born."

Atemu felt cold, "Vessel?"

"Yes a vessel. A body that would be able to carry the pharaoh's soul until he's ready to be reawakened. A body that was identical to the pharaoh's own.

You, Atemu Motou are nothing but a vessel to our Great King, Pharaoh Atemu."

"What? Now you're just fucking with my mind. I am my own person and not some fucken vessel to fucking dead man." Atemu didn't even know where the outburst came from. The teen wanted to feel anger. After all someone just implied he was a shell. But there was nothing pulsing through his veins. Atemu could feel denial building in his brain. He was not a shell.

Everyone ignored his outburst.

"But you are Atemu. Your soul doesn't belong to you. Nothing does. Your thoughts, aspirations, goals are not yours."

"No" Atemu said. But it was more of trying to convince himself that the others. The teen tried to deny it but found he had no strength to. He was mentally, physically, and emotionally drained. Too much had happened in the last couple of days to wrap his mind around anything.

There was no possible way that he was a shell. Things like this didn't exist.

Atemu almost agreed with them until a spiky haired kid popped up in his thoughts. Yuugi. If he gave up now there was no telling on what would happen to the youngster. Atemu was the only one thing left in Yuugi's life. Determination came into the teen's eyes, even though it was a miniscule amount.

"No" Atemu said with more feeling.

"Your parents are on this. Well, they were on board." Shadi calmly replied. Atemu felt sick. His stomach turned and he had to bite his lip to keep the bile down. This…man was now making stuff up. "They were part of our organization and they knew if they conceived a child it would be the vessel. Since they wanted the Pharaoh back they married and had you.

When you were born it was obvious that indeed you were the vessel. Preparations were made and on your sixteenth birthday you would be sacrifices to release the Pharaoh's soul. After the Pharaoh would be released they wanted to start their own family and they had Yuugi."

Numbness had taken over Atemu. The only thing he felt was the squeezing pain in his heart. It wasn't true, they were lying. Though it did explain why there were never photos of the teen around the house. Why his birthdays were never a big deal.

"They were so happy to have a son. A son who had his own soul and would live the life the way he wanted. A son that was not you."

Tears streamed down the teen's face. He remembered when Yuugi was born. His parents had ignored Atemu for weeks and had forbidden him from seeing the infant. One week Yuugi wouldn't stop crying until Atemu picked him up for the first time. It was then the brotherly bond formed and the duo was inseparable.

They were trying to make Atemu hate Yuugi. It was impossible of course but the teen's tears increased at the reality of someone trying to separate them. The reality that what they were saying was true.

"Unfortunately your parents decided to crash into a car and not survive. The two of you then were given into the care of your grandfather. He also knew of the plan. The he too died and we lost track of you.

Until you met Seto Kaiba."

Atemu gazed at Kaiba remembering their first encounter.

It was four months ago. He had taken Yuugi to the opening of Kaibaland. When Atemu spotted Kaiba, he marched to him and arrogantly demanded the blue-eyed man for a duel for his World Championship Title. The man accepted, dueled, and lost. So forth their rivalry began.

Atemu laughed the memory. He was so bold and confident. Living life to the fullest. Now look at him, tied to a rock and blubbering like a baby.

"Kaiba informed us and we began discussing ideas on how to lure you into our trap." Shadi ended it because there was nothing left _to_ say. He gazed at the five people again. Pegasus set up the tournament with the three million dollars knowing Atemu wouldn't refuse. Ishizu had brought the museum exhibit in order for the events to begin. Marik made sure Atemu got to the island safely.

There was nothing Atemu could think of that contradicted what Shadi said. Atemu was a vessel for the Pharaoh's soul. His own existence was a lie.

Sighing defeated, Atemu retreated into the deepest corner of his mind and curled up in the fetal position. He passed memories of his friends. The times when there was no troubling dreams, near fatal accidents, or the worry of getting Yuugi back. Memories of game nights, duels, late night study sessions, and lame jokes flitted before his again would he see Yuugi laugh or smile.

There was only one regret in Atemu mind. He would never see Yuugi grow up. Someone else would be there. Erasing Atemu from Yuugi's life.

His mind went blank.

There he became the vessel for Pharaoh Atemu.

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**What did you think?**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**Review.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'M BACK! Sorry for the extremely long wait. But life just kept throwing curve balls at me and I haven't had time to do any writing. I wrote this chapter today and wanted to get it out ASAP. I know there are many grammatical errors in this piece and I know its not the quality you are used to. But I just wanted to get a chapter out and answer your questions about Pharaoh Atemu! Enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is not mine. But the plot line is.**

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Yuugi tried opening the door that had him locked in. No use it was locked. He walked over to the window and looked out and hoped Yami was okay. A few tears rolled down but he quickly wiped them away. Yami would come. He always did. He promised he would. Yuugi walked over to the bed and sat down and began waiting for his brother. Confident that he would come.

The body of Atemu hung limp on the stone tablet. Somewhere in the body was Atemu but how could one be sure. If Atemu didn't have a soul and he wasn't occupying his body was Atemu gone? Never to come back? Was it like a computer program? Did he get deleted from existence? Was it proper to have a funeral for someone who never existed? These were very good questions. Too bad no one was asking them.

Kaiba looked at the body. There was no emotion on his face.

"Now that we have a vessel we can start the ceremony." Shadi said. The five people made a circle around the tablet and began to hum an enchantment. All the millennium items began to glow and the millennium puzzle shot out a golden beam.

Pharaoh Atemu scoured the millennium puzzle for his friend. One moment he was feeling unbearable pain from Atemu and the next he was gone. Pharaoh Atemu knew what was going on and he wasn't too happy about the proceedings. He had watched Atemu grow up. Felt everything that the young adult had gone through. Been there through all the up and downs of life. He had hoped by punishing the people that were planning to ruin Atemu's life, Atemu would be able to live. It seemed everything he had done was in vain. His priests had succeeded.

He saw Atemu and Yuugi as the sons he never got to have. He couldn't do much by being a spirit in an inanimate object but he tried his best to let the boys live in peace. He feared that he wouldn't be able to unite the brothers. His heart ached.

Out of nowhere a bright golden light interrupted his search for Atemu. Pharaoh Atemu was grabbed and dragged from the puzzle. He was thrown into a dark abyss.

Pharaoh Atemu slowly opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times. He felt weird. He felt heavy. He felt pain. At this realization his eyes widened and his gaze snapped forward. In front of him were five people. He sucked in air for the first time in 3000 years. It was a sensation he wasn't used to and it felt good.

Shadi approached him carefully and undid the restraints. Pharaoh Atemu jumped down off the stone tablet and stood up. Eyes blazing furiously at the five people. Shadi took a step back and all five of them got down on their knees and bowed deeply.

"My king" Shadi said.

Pharaoh Atemu stood straight and rubbed his wrists. Atemu's body took a great beating and he felt it all over. His anger only got worse at thought of Atemu. The five priests looked up but did not meet his eyes. It was not politically correct to look into the eyes of the living God!

"What in Ra's name do you think you're doing?!" Pharaoh Atemu bellowed. Shock and surprise covered the faces of the priests and they shrunk back a little. This was not the reaction they expected.

"How can you take an innocent boys soul and just destroy it!"

"But my Pharaoh, It had to be done in order to bring you into the land of the living. And as we told the boy, Atemu had no soul. He harbored the soul of the Pharaoh." Ishizu said. She showed no emotion.

"Who gave you authority to decide anyone fate? You should have let me die and move on into the afterlife."

"We need full access of the shadow realm. You are the only one who has such power and together we will rule the world and shadow realm." Pegasus chimed in. He flicked his white hair and the millennium eye gleamed and stared at Pharaoh Atemu.

"I will not do such thing! I demand you to let me pass on and bring Atemu back!" Pharaoh Atemu gritted his teeth, his red eyes dangerously placed on the five priests. He could feel power hum behind him. It wanted to be used, to be able to help the Living Horus. He might have been naïve and inexperienced with everything back in Ancient Egypt, but 3000 years has passed. Pharaoh Atemu was not the same boy he was. He was a man. A Pharaoh. A powerful Pharaoh. And he could see that his priests underestimated him. They were in for a surprise.

"If we cannot persuade you to work for us in achieving our goal, then we will have to force you. Even if you are Pharaoh, we cannot allow our second chance to be destroyed because of your lack of cooperation. Shadi stepped forward with his millennium key. Ishizu snapped her fingers and the holding arms and legs went flying at him.

"Dark Magician come forth!" The puzzle glowed and a dark hole appeared in front of Pharaoh Atemu and the purple magician flew out of it. He pointed his staff at Shadi and awaited his master's command. Pharaoh Atemu dodged the restraints and landed on his feet.

"Attack!" the Pharaoh bellowed. He then turned towards the stone tablet. It had ancient hieroglyphics written on it. "Dark Magician Girl destroy the tablet."

Another dark hole appeared and came flying out was a blonde girl similar to her master. She twirled her staff and blasted the rock.

"No!" Shadi yelled. He was at disbelief that the Pharaoh was able to summon two shadow monsters from nowhere. Back in Ancient Egypt he wasn't even able to work the puzzle. Had he underestimated his king?

"Don't let him get away! Use all means necessary." Ishizu yelled. Marik decided to jump in the battle. He lunged at the Pharaoh with his fists but Pharaoh Atemu dodged him and bolted towards the door. Both magicians followed him out.

"Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba yelled out and a burst of light came from the ceiling and an enormous dragon appeared. "Go my beast! Catch the Pharaoh"

Pharaoh Atemu heard destruction behind him but he did not bother to look back. "Summoned Skull do not let the dragon pass!"

Summoned Skull appeared and blocked the hallway behind Pharaoh Atemu. He knew the dragon would defeat the skull easily but it was an obstacle. He had to find Atemu's younger brother and get out of the castle. He turned to Dark Magician.

"Find little Yuugi." The purple magician nodded his head and disappeared. Pharaoh Atemu kept on running trying to find an exit. The castle was enormous and he had no idea where he was. He heard the roar of Kaiba's dragon and knew his summoned skull was defeated. He needed a monster that would be able to destroy the dragon but he knew of no monster that would be able to.

"Dark Magician girl stay here and wait for the dragon. When it gets here use magic cylinder to weaken it and then cast the spellbinding circle to halt it in its tracks." The lady magician nodded her head and took her battle stance. Pharaoh Atemu took off to find the nearest window to see how far up in the castle he was. He was about three stories high. He then went into the nearest room and sat down in the middle of it. Closing his eyes he summoned another monster.

"Kuriboh." The Pharaoh opened his eyes and the brown fur ball was in front of him. It was happy to see his master. "It has been a long time, hasn't it my old friend?"

Kuriboh nodded.

"I am going into my soul room in order to find Atemu. Warn me if the priests come and call upon the forbidden one when needed." Kuriboh nodded again this time determined to aid his master.

Pharaoh Atemu closed his eyes and meditated. He felt himself travel back into the deepest part of his mind. He opened his eyes again and this time he was standing in front of Atemu's soul room. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

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